Christian Dvorak – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Fantasy playoffs are upon us, the Blackhawks bring in another top prospect, Marco Rossi, Anthony Cirelli, and Quinton Byfield are producing in the middle of the ice as Troy Terry and Zach Benson are working the wings.

Scott Cullen — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 14:27:53 +0000

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 24: Vancouver Canucks center Marco Rossi (93) vies for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, as fantasy playoffs are upon us, the Blackhawks bring in another top prospect, Marco Rossi, Anthony Cirelli, and Quinton Byfield are producing in the middle of the ice as Troy Terry and Zach Benson are working the wings.

#1 While it has been another tough season for the Chicago Blackhawks, they are getting a nice boost late in the season with the arrival of Anton Frondell, the third pick in last summer’s draft, who tallied 20 goals and eight assists for 28 points in 43 games for Djurgardens in the SHL. Frondell has arrived in Chicago, registered two assists in his first three NHL games, and is skating on the top line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene in addition to getting first unit power play time. He’s 18, so expectations need to be kept in check, but he’s also getting enough of an opportunity to make him immediately interesting for those in deep leagues.

#2 There may be some fantasy value to be found in players that are playing for teams out of the playoff picture. For example, it’s easy enough to dismiss the Vancouver Canucks as they have endured a brutal season, but centre Marco Rossi has produced 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in his past eight games, is getting first unit power play time and is thriving with linemates Liam Ohgren and Brock Boeser.

#3 With an established reputation as a strong two-way player, Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli is getting a shot at an expanded offensive role, skating on the top line between Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. In his past 12 games, Cirelli has produced 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 21 shots on goal, with 13 of those 14 points coming at even strength. With 2.51 points per 60 minutes during five-on-five play this season, Cirelli ranks 22nd in the league. Not bad for a checking centre.

#4 He has missed some time with injuries, but Anaheim Ducks right winger Troy Terry has been on a good run since Christmas, producing 17 points (7 G, 10 A) with 29 shots on goal in 15 games. He is scoring better than a point per game this season, a feat he has not been able to accomplish in a full season. He was scratched from Thursday’s game at Calgary, so his reliability remains an issue but his productivity makes him a valuable player whenever he is in the lineup.

#5 There are so many great stories on the Buffalo Sabres this season, as the team is poised to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2010-2011 season, and one of those great stories is the play of 20-year-old winger Zach Benson. In his past six games, Benson has seven points (3 G, 4 A) with seven shots on goal. That shot rate needs improvement, but Benson is thriving on a line with Josh Norris and Josh Doan. When Benson is on the ice at five-on-five, the Sabres are outscoring opponents 39-22.

#6 As the Los Angeles Kings push for a playoff spot, centre Quinton Byfield has stepped up his game, with nine points (5 G, 4 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past seven contests. Consistency has been elusive for Byfield, as he had five points (4 G, 1 A) in the previous 17 games, but when he’s going, Byfield can be a physical force. He is currently skating on a line with Trevor Moore and Alex Laferriere while getting second-unit power play time.

#7 The Ottawa Senators are in a competitive battle for a playoff spot but they are dealing with serious injuries on the blueline. Jake Sanderson was already out of the lineup with an upper-body injury when Thomas Chabot suffered a broken arm that will keep him out for 4-to-8 weeks. Add in injuries to Nick Jensen and Dennis Gilbert and the Sens were forced to make changes, which included calling up 2024 first-round pick Carter Yakeumchuk from Belleville of the American Hockey League, where he had 36 points (10 G, 26 A) in 50 games. Yakemchuk has two points (1 G, 1 A) with four shots on goal in his first three NHL games and the injuries on Ottawa’s blueline may prompt the Sens to keep Yakemchuk and his offensive skills in the lineup. Some D to consider from the waiver wire: Damon Severson, who has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 14 games this month, Rasmus Sandin, who has five points (2 G, 3 A) in his past seven games, and even Sens defenders Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence, who have combined for 12 points in the past eight games.

#8 In the past month, New Jersey Devils right winger Connor Brown has been moved into a more offensive role and has delivered 14 points (4 G, 10 A) and 24 shots on goal in 13 games. He has been a reliable middle six winger in his NHL career, but he’s skating on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, while also getting top-unit power play time. He is up to 36 points (14 G, 22 A) on the season, within striking distance of his career high of 43 points, set during the 2019-2020 season when he was with the Ottawa Senators.

#9 It has not been an easy season for Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault, but he has recorded 10 assists in his past 11 games, a veritable surge in production for a player who has just 28 points (11 G, 17 A) in 53 games. The veteran winger is playing on PP1 for the Predators and is skating on a line with Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg, so he’s in a decent situation to produce late in the season.

#10 It’s been a similar situation for Anaheim Ducks veteran winger Alex Killorn, who has eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 17 shots on goal in his past 10 games, which is a significant improvement for a player who had 20 points in 63 games before that. The 36-year-old winger is skating on a line with veteran pivot Mikael Granlund and rookie right winger Bennett Sennecke, which is a strong enough situation to consider Killorn for some late-season value.

#11 As the Seattle Kraken try to stay in the playoff hunt, captain Jordan Eberle has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past seven games. He is up to 23 goals on the season, which is his most in a season since 2017-2018, when he scored 25, so he is within range of that total. He has consistently been playing on Seattle’s top line with Matty Beniers at centre and there have been several wingers rotating through. Right now, it’s rookie Berkly Catton getting a shot on the left side.

#12 Staying in Seattle, right winger Kaapo Kakko is delivering quality results late in the season. In his past seven games, Kakko has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) with seven shots on goal. That shot rate is not enough to sustain that level of offensive production, but he provides useful secondary scoring, skating on a line with Chandler Stephenson and Bobby McMann.

#13 Early this season, the Utah Grizzlies winger Lawson Crouse was not playing a big part and his production was modest, managing nine points (4 G, 5 A) through his first 26 games. It’s gotten better throughout the season, and in his past seven games, he has six points (4 G, 2 A) and 24 hits, which is really where Crouse brings his most reliable value for fantasy managers. He has scored 20 goals for the fourth time in his career and it’s the fifth time in his career that he has recorded at least 190 hits. If you have a need on the wing at this point in the fantasy season, you could do worse than adding Crouse.

#14 There have been reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not inclined to give a qualifying offer to right winger Matias Maccelli this summer, but Maccelli has been one of the few Maple Leafs contributing consistently. Since the beginning of February, Maccelli has 16 points (7 G, 9 A) with 33 shots on goal in 20 games. He is tied with John Tavares for second on the team in scoring over that span, three points behind William Nylander and one point ahead of Matthew Knies. Most recently, he’s been skating on a line with Dakota Joshua and Bo Groulx, but that hasn’t deterred him.

#15 Although the wins aren’t coming easily, Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has been playing well late in the season while facing a heavy workload. In his past eight starts, Woll has a 2-4-2 record, but he has a .910 save percentage while facing an average of around 35 shots per game. The Leafs’ lack of success doesn’t help Woll’s value, but it is part of the reason that he’s still available in a decent percentage of leagues and he’s playing well enough that he could help a fantasy manager who needs a late-season upgrade between the pipes.

#16 While we’re considering goaltenders on teams that are out of the playoff race, look at St. Louis Blues netminder Joel Hofer, who has been unbeatable since the Olympic break. In nine games since the break, Hofer has a 7-0-2 record with a .955 save percentage! He has a .911 save percentage on the season and has recently overtaken Jordan Binnington in terms of starts, with Hofer at 36 and Binnington at 35. Perhaps this is the changing of the guard for the Blues, as Hofer has 13.44 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) and Binnington has -20.01 (GSAx), a stark difference in performance.

#17 There was some suspicion around the Olympic break that the Florida Panthers could be on the verge of shutting down a bunch of players with injuries because the playoffs were looking less and less likely, so there was not as much incentive for players to play through the injuries that they might when the team is mounting a Stanley Cup run. Aleksander Barkov has been out all season of course, but Brad Marchand is out, Anton Lundell will miss 2-6 weeks with an upper body injury, Evan Rodrigues is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger, and Mackie Samoskevich is due to return soon, but he’s still out. That leaves forwards like Jesper Boqvist and Tomas Nosek playing bigger roles than would typically be expected of them.

#18 Philadelphia Flyers centre Christian Dvorak has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past seven games, and he really has the trust of Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet. In the past 22 games, Dvorak has played more than 20 minutes 12 times, including a season-high 25:32 last week at San Jose. He is now averaging 18:28 of ice time per game, a career high, and his 44 points (15 G, 29 A) is also the high-water mark for his career. All of this is to suggest that, in a pinch, Dvorak could have late-season value for fantasy managers.

#19 It’s a little troubling for the Vegas Golden Knights, as they scramble for a playoff spot, that star centre Jack Eichel has hit a slump. They are hoping he has broken out of it with a three-point game last night against Washington. In his previous seven games, Eichel has generated 22 shots on goal while averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game, and yet he has managed just one assist. It would be a tad aggressive to go cutting Eichel at this stage of the season, especially when he’s generating shots at this rate, but it’s also possible that he doesn’t need to be in your fantasy lineup automatically. It’s not much better for Golden Knights right winger Mitch Marner, who has two assists and 19 shots on goal in the past eight games.

#20 Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier is tied for the league lead with 11 goals in March, tied with Pavel Zacha. Gauthier ranks second in expected goals with 7.61 ixG, barely trailing Brady Tkachuk at 7.69. Other forwards that have been around the net, rounding out the top ten when it comes to individual expected goals: Zach Hyman (7.09), Brock Nelson (6.98), Alex DeBrincat (6.93). Beckett Sennecke (6.85), Bryan Rust (6.68), Rickard Rakell (6.60), Alexis Lafreniere (6.49), and Timo Meier (6.49).

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Oilers address their goaltending need, a Ducks rookie continues to surprise, Sam Bennett is back on track, and veterans Brock Nelson and Steven Stamkos are finding the net, plus so much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 20:50:35 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Oilers address their goaltending need, a Ducks rookie continues to surprise, Sam Bennett is back on track, and veterans Brock Nelson and Steven Stamkos are finding the net, plus so much more!

#1 The Edmonton Oilers have been dissatisfied with their goaltending and made a move to address it Friday, acquiring veteran netminder Tristan Jarry and prospect Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick in 2029. Jarry is enjoying a bounce-back season with a .909 save percentage and gains fantasy value even by going to an Oilers team with a slightly worse record, because Edmonton should be able to provide more goal support and the Oilers are expected to have a better record than the Penguins. Skinner’s value is already at a low point, as his .891 save percentage wasn’t cutting it. He will likely share the crease with Arturs Silovs in Pittsburgh, as Jarry was, but that’s going to be a competition. Kulak has struggled this season but logged big minutes on the Oilers’ Stanley Cup runs the past two years, so if the Penguins want to flip him, they probably can. Poulin was a first-round pick in 2019 but hasn’t been able to crack the NHL lineup. He has two assists in 15 career games, but maybe he can get a fresh look in Edmonton.

#2 Anaheim Ducks right winger Beckett Sennecke has a tendency to sneak up on people. Even he was surprised when the Ducks drafted him third overall in 2024 and he didn’t enter this season with huge expectations. It seemed a positive sign that he made the team as a 19-year-old winger and if he could provide some secondary scoring, all the better. At this point, though, he has put up 14 points (4 G, 10 A) with 29 shots on goal in his past 13 games and his 26 points (10 G, 16 A) in 31 games leads all rookie scorers. Sennecke is working on a young and talented line with Cutter Gauthier and Mason McTavish.

#3 Florida Panthers playoff hero Sam Bennett struggled early in the season, managing five points (3 G, 2 A) through his first 18 games, but he has started to heat up since. In his past 12 games, Bennett has 15 points (6 G, 9 A) and 35 shots on goal, a huge contribution for a Panthers team that is missing Aleksander Barkov, so they desperately need Benett to play like he does in the postseason and, lately, that’s more like what the Panthers have been getting from him and he’s having success skating on a line with Carter Verhaeghe and Brad Marchand.

#4 When the Colorado Avalanche acquired centre Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders last season, they may not have loved the production they received, which included 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 19 regular season games before he added zero goals and four assists in seven playoff games. He started slowly this season, too, with five points (3 G, 2 A) and 24 shots on goal in his first 16 games. In his past 15 games, however, Nelson has put up 16 points (9 G, 7 A) with 28 shots on goal. That shot rate still has room for improvement, but Nelson is getting good results on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Ross Colton.

#5 Moving to Nashville has not brought the best out of veteran sniper Steven Stamkos, but there are signs of life. He started this season with just two points (1 G, 1 A) and 30 shots on goal in 14 games. For a high-percentage finisher, he was obviously not going to keep scoring at a rate of one goal for every 30 shots on goal, but after scoring four goals against St. Louis on Thursday, he has 10 points (8 G, 2 A) with 25 shots on goal in his past eight games. He’s skating on a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Evangelista, and they have helped the Predators to a 6-2 record in their past eight games.

#6 Utah Mammoth centre Logan Cooley suffered a lower-body injury that is going to keep him out for a couple of months, likely pushing his return until after the Olympic break. Cooley had 23 points (14 G, 9 A) in 29 games at the time of his injury, and now the Mammoth need to shuffle lines, so they have moved Nick Schmaltz into the top line centre role, while bumping J.J. Peterka up to play right wing on the No. 1 line.

#7 Ottawa Senators centre Shane Pinto is out for at least another week due to a lower-body injury suffered last week, knocking out a player who ranks third on the Senators with 12 goals this season. With Pinto out, Ridly Greig slides into the middle of the ice, and it creates room for David Perron to fill a top-nine role in the lineup.

#8 The Montreal Canadiens called up top goaltending prospect Jacob Fowler to make his NHL debut this week and, given the struggles of Samuel Montembeault this season, there could be opportunity knocking. A third-round pick in 2023, Fowler had a .932 save percentage in 74 games across two seasons at Boston College then finished last season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL. He started this season with a .919 save percentage in 15 games for the Rocket, earning his promotion, and Fowler stopped 36 of 38 shots to earn a 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh in his NHL debut. There is uncertainty in the Montreal crease right now, but Fowler might force his way into playing time.

#9 At 37 years old, he may not be peak Showtime anymore, but Detroit Red Wings right winger Patrick Kane can still play a valuable role for a team needing offence. Kane has 12 points (2 G, 10 A) and 31 shots on goal in his past 11 games, and he seems to have something good going with linemates Andrew Copp and Alex DeBrincat. Copp has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 11 shots on goal in his past five games, a relative burst of offence compared to how little he had been producing earlier in the season.

#10 The Pittsburgh Penguins have moved Tommy Novak to left wing on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, and the 28-year-old forward has produced eight points (2 G, 6 A) with 13 shots on goal in his past seven games. He had seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 29 shots on goal in 22 games before that, so it may not be easy to buy-in on Novak’s production, but if he’s getting a shot on Crosby’s wing, he’s at least worth considering as a short-term fix.

#11 New York Islanders captain Anders Lee had a four-point night in Thursday’s win over Anaheim, giving him seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past five games and while he’s not the same threat that he has been in years past – his 15:32 of ice time per game is his lowest average since 2015-2016 – he is skating on a line with Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau at even strength, and that’s a decent spot. The Islanders may need to do some line shuffling, however, as Bo Horvat left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury.

#12 Staying with the Islanders, veteran defenceman Ryan Pulock is offering more value than he has in recent years. In his past eight games, Pulock has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 13 shots on goal, and he’s not really a power play factor, with only one of those points coming with the man advantage. He’s been renowned for his heavy shot from the point, ever since he arrived in the NHL, but topped out at 37 points in 82 games in 2017-2018, his second full season in the league. With 16 points in 32 games, Pulock is on pace for more this season.

#13 Veteran defenceman John Klingberg has a long track record of being able to provide offence, with six seasons of 40-plus points to his credit, but he has slowed down, in part due to injuries. However, he made progress in the playoffs with Edmonton last season and has a new opportunity with the San Jose Sharks this season and his offensive instincts work with San Jose’s aggressive approach. In his past nine games, Klingberg has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 12 shots on goal, averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game. He may not be a dream candidate for fantasy managers, but he is up to 12 points (5 G, 7 A) and 31 blocked shots in 23 games, which should generate some interest.

#14 There is a segment of the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base that is not entirely enamored with defenceman Morgan Rielly, and that’s fine, not everyone is going to like every player, but Rielly is a productive blueliner. He has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past seven games, giving him 23 points (5 G, 18 A) in 29 games this season. Only five of those 23 points are on the power play, though Rielly is on Toronto’s PP1 right now, so perhaps that is a path to continuing what is already solid offensive production.

#15 Philadelphia Flyers centre Christian Dvorak is getting an opportunity to play a bigger role with his new team and it’s starting to pay off for him. Dvorak has joined Trevor Zegras and Travis Konecny on the Flyers’ top line, and has five points (1 G, 4 A) and seven shots on goal in his past three games. Dvorak’s career high is 38 points, set in 2019-2020 when he was with Arizona, but has 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in 29 games this season, so he’s on pace to go well past that total. His ice time is up 1:39 per game over last season and if he continues with skilled linemates, Dvorak will ride that offensive wave to more fantasy appeal.

#16 Trying to shake up their lineup, the Winnipeg Jets moved Gabriel Vilardi off the first line and to the second line with Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov. That movement shouldn’t be seen as an indictment of Vilardi’s play, however, as he has 13 points (8 G, 5 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past 11 games. He is scoring on 21.2 percent of his shots this season, which seems really high, except that in his previous two seasons with the Jets, his shooting percentage was 19.8 percent, so if there is going to be regression, it may not be by very much.

#17 Pittsburgh Penguins rookie centre Ben Kindel isn’t producing enough to have fantasy appeal just yet, with 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in 26 games but, with Evgeni Malkin out, Kindel is playing more than 18:30 per game over the past six contests and has a couple of goals but also has 28 shots on goal. That ability to generate shots at that rate makes Kindel very intriguing for the future and possibly even for later this season as he grows more comfortable playing in the best league in the world as an 18-year-old centre.

#18 Minnesota Wild right winger Mats Zuccarello is out with an upper-body injury, which is unfortunate since he missed the first month of the season with a lower-body injury. Zuccarello had 12 points (2 G, 10 A) and 29 shots on goal in 15 games before getting hurt and he joins Marco Rossi on the injured list, which means new linemates for Kirill Kaprizov. Right now, it’s rookie Danila Yurov and veteran Vladimir Tarasenko getting that chance. Yurov has five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past 10 games and Tarasenko has three points (1 G, 2 A) in his past two games, but that comes after a seven-game scoreless drought.

#19 New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier is taking a leave from the team to deal with a family health matter. That is obviously not good news on a personal level, which is most important, and it does leave the Devils – already missing Jack Hughes – a little light up front. That creates a ripple effect in the Devils’ lineup, with Stefan Noesen moving to left wing on the top line and Paul Cotter to right wing on the second line. Noesen has just four points (1 G, 3 A) in 25 games this season but did have an assist and played a season-high 15:59 on Thursday as he is also getting time on New Jersey’s top power play unit.

#20 St. Louis Blues right winger Jordan Kyrou is week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and he’s already been enduring a rough season. After scoring 36 goals and 70 points last season, Kyrou has eight goals and 16 points in 28 games this season. In his absence, Mathieu Joseph moves into St. Louis’ top six, but he gets there with two assists and seven shots on goal in his past dozen games, so Joseph needs to take advantage of the opportunity being afforded to him.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – A look to the future with Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini then turn back the clock for Taylor and Taylor, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 14:26:51 +0000

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 18: Connor Bedard #98 of the Chicago Blackhawks looks on during the second period against the Calgary Flames on November 18, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, look to the future with Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini then turn back the clock for Taylor and Taylor, and so much more!

#1 It’s not as if Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard is flying under the radar. He was the first overall pick in the 2023 Draft and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie for the 2023-2024 season. Last season was not as productive as hoped, though most of the blame seemed to fall on the lack of quality in his supporting cast, and that did create some questions heading into this, his third season in the NHL. Bedard has silenced any critics with 29 points (13 G, 16 A) in 20 games. After scoring on 11.2 percent of his shots in his first two seasons, Bedard has scored his 13 goals on 70 shots, a shooting percentage of 18.6 percent, which is high, but not outrageously so, particularly for someone with Bedard’s release. His on-ice shooting percentage is 13.0 percent, which again is high, but not outrageously high. The early indications are that Bedard’s improvement is at least somewhat for real, in part because he has increased his shot rate to 3.5 per game, after averaging 2.38 per game last season. His percentages will probably come down, so maybe he won’t continue at 1.45 points per game – almost a 119-point pace in 82 games – but a 100-point season is not out of the question.

#2 The first pick in the 2024 Draft, San Jose Sharks centre Macklin Celebrini has produced 31 points (13 G, 18 A) in his first 21 games and to see this kind of production in just his second season portends potential superstardom for the 19-year-old skater. The percentages would suggest exercising some caution with Celebrini’s projections over the rest of the season because he is scoring on 21.7 percent of his shots, after scoring on 10.6 percent as a rookie last season, and his on-ice shooting percentage is nearly 17 percent, a number that will not last for an entire season. Both players are outstanding and should be marquee players in the league for a long time, so there should be no reason to move them out in keeper formats, but given the statistics to this point, it appears that Celebrini’s hot start could be more likely to run into regression this season.

#3 At 34-years-old, Carolina Hurricanes left winger Taylor Hall has hit the stage of his career where he is filling a complementary role as a scoring forward, but that doesn’t mean he has ceased to provide value. In his past seven games, Hall has six points (3 G, 3 A) with 18 shots on goal while playing 15:45 per game. This comes on the heels of his managing just two assists in his previous 10 games, so he’s not easy to trust as a point producer. Some of that is because he has not recorded a power play point all season, with all 12 of his points this season coming at even strength. It might be difficult to believe in Hall at this point, but if he continues like this, belief will follow.

#4 Taken with the second pick in the 2010 Draft, one spot behind Hall, Tyler Seguin has enjoyed a productive career with fewer injuries. Seguin started slowly this season but, after he produced seven points (4 G, 3 A) in his past eight games, Seguin has climbed to 12 points (7 G, 5 A) in 21 games this season. He only has nine shots on goal in those eight games, which is troublingly low, but also has the benefit of quality linemates, as he is currently skating on a line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

#5 Acquired from Montreal as part of the Noah Dobson trade, Emil Heineman has turned into such an offensive threat that he is getting time on the first line. With an assist in Thursday’s 5-0 win at Detroit, Heineman has contributed a point in eight (4 G, 4 A) of his past nine games. He only has 17 shots on goal in that time, so the point-per-game pace is likely to fade, but Heineman is making a case to play a bigger role for the Islanders and if he can stick in this spot in the lineup, he will be a valuable fantasy contributor.

#6 When Aleskander Barkov got injured, the Florida Panthers knew that they had a prime young player who could step into a bigger role. While no one is going to completely make up for Barkov’s absence, it did appear that Anton Lundell could handle more responsibility. He has stepped up all season, but in the past 12 games, Lundell has averaged 21:36 of ice time per game, contributing 11 points (3 G, 8 A) with 22 shots on goal. The Panthers have done a lot of line juggling this season due to injuries, and Lundell has most recently been skating on a line with Mackie Samoskevich and Brad Marchand.

#7 Veteran Toronto Maple Leafs blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson has not been a major offensive contributor in recent seasons, but he was a PP1 quarterback during his prime years in Arizona, so there is some offensive skill there, even if it has been suppressed. In his past nine games, Ekman-Larsson has contributed eight points (1 G, 7 A) while averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game. Ekman-Larsson is getting second unit power play time and is up to 15 points (2 G, 13 A) in 21 games this season, giving him a chance to surpass 40 points for the first time since 2018-2019.

#8 Philadelphia Flyers centre Christian Dvorak showed some offensive flashes in Montreal last season after battling injuries in the previous few seasons. He is playing significant minutes for Philadelphia this season and has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past six games. He may not sustain that kind of scoring surge over the long haul, but he played 17:59 at even strength on Thursday against St. Louis, leading all Philadelphia forwards in even-strength ice time, so that does make him a more compelling case, as is any player who has earned that kind of trust from his coach.

#9 One of the hottest names on the trade market is Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson, who is ramping up his productivity, even in the midst of the Flames’ struggles, which should only enhance his value. Andersson has six points (2 G, 4 A) and eight shots on goal during a three-game point streak, and he is averaging 25:20 of ice time per game in his past seven games – apparently the Flames want to get the most out of him before sending him to a new location.

#10 Although his consistently low shot rates can be a reason for concern, and he’s never been confused with the most durable players in the league, New York Islanders left winger Jonathan Drouin is still a productive playmaking winger. Drouin has seven points (2 G, 5 A) with eight shots on goal in his past seven games and even when he was held off the scoresheet during the Islanders’ 5-0 win at Detroit on Thursday, he ranked second among Islanders forwards in ice time, behind only Mathew Barzal. It’s enough to make him appealing to managers in deeper leagues, so long as he is healthy and getting this much ice time.

#11 Taken with the 19th pick in the 2023 Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Oliver Moore played for two seasons at the University of Minnesota and started this season in the American Hockey League, where he tallied nine points (6 G, 3 A) in nine games. He has been promoted to Chicago, where he has contributed five points (2 G, 3 A) in nine games and is skating on the Blackhawks’ second line with Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi. He is more long-term potential than immediate value, but Moore might have enough upside for deeper league interest now.

#12 It’s looking like rookie Jesper Wallstedt is pushing Filip Gustavsson in the Minnesota Wild crease. Gustavsson has been great and not-so-great in recent seasons and has a .897 save percentage in 14 games this season, a level of play that opens the door for a challenger. Wallstedt has delivered a .926 save percentage in seven starts and that includes one disastrous start at San Jose when he allowed six goals on 25 shots. Every other start has been in the range of good to great.

#13 The Columbus Blue Jackets have been patient with goaltender Jet Greaves, a 24-year-old who was undrafted coming out of the Ontario Hockey League. After 158 games in the American Hockey League, during which he recorded a .909 save percentage, Greaves put himself in position to have a job in Columbus this season and now the question is how much of a workload should he be asked to handle? In his past five starts, Greaves has a .925 save percentage, lifting his season save percentage to .906 in 13 starts.

#14 With Thatcher Demko injured once again, opportunity knocks for Vancouver Canucks netminder Kevin Lankinen, who is admittedly not easy to recommend at the moment. Through a dozen appearances this season, Lankinen has a .886 save percentage, which is not good enough, but he had a .907 save percentage over the previous three seasons combined, and that level is typically good enough to hold a starting job in the league.

#15 The Colorado Avalanche have been easing Mackenzie Blackwood back into action following his recovery from a lower-body injury. Blackwood has appeared in three games this month and somehow has a 2-0-1 record with a .870 save percentage in those three contests. In the long run, he should regain the Avalanche net, but Scott Wedgewood has a .913 save percentage in 16 starts, so the Avs can afford to be patient with Blackwood.

#16 While the decline of the Nashville Predators doesn’t fall entirely on the goaltending, it’s worth pointing out that veteran netminder Juuse Saros had positive Goals Saved Above Average for every season of his career until last season and he’s underwater again this season. A save percentage of .892 isn’t going to cut it behind a team that ranks 21st with an Expected Goals Against Average of 3.13.

#17 The New York Rangers are getting the full J.T. Miller experience it appears. After trading to acquire the centre from the Vancouver Canucks last season, the Blueshirts named Miller their captain for this season, and they are not getting the kind of leadership that they might have hoped for. This week he was roundly criticized for an abysmal shift against Vegas that ultimately turned into a goal against the Rangers, and he was in a slump, scoring two points (1 G, 1 A) with 12 shots on goal in an eight-game span. On Thursday night, he scored a pair of goals in a 6-3 loss at Colorado and still found his way to a minus-4 by the end of the game when the Avalanche scored two goals into the empty Rangers net. Miller is a talented player who, when motivated, can take over games, but he also has a habit of checking out defensively in some of the most egregious displays. That probably makes him worth considering as a buy-low option right now, but that does come with a level of risk.

#18 In the past couple of seasons, Mackenzie Weegar has been a standout on the Calgary Flames blueline, producing 99 points (28 G, 71 A) in 163 games to go with stellar possession numbers. He has managed just four assists in 22 games this season and what’s wild about Weegar’s struggles is that his possession game remains excellent, with the Flames controlling 57 percent of five-on-five shot attempts with Weegar on the ice. However, he is getting killed by low percentages, including an on-ice shooting percentage of 4.0 percent and an on-ice save percentage of .869, which has contributed greatly to the Flames getting outscored 21-8 with Weegar on the ice at five-on-five. With the Flames giving Rasmus Andersson first-unit power play time, Weegar could be the likely beneficiary following an Andersson trade, presuming that Weegar would return to the top power play unit. In the meantime, he should at least be able to count on some positive regression in those percentages.

#19 It has been a tough time for NHL players and social occasions. New Jersey Devils standout centre Jack Hughes will miss eight weeks after requiring surgery on his finger following an incident at a rookie dinner. The Devils will continue to lean on Nico Hischier down the middle, with Dawson Mercer handling the second line centre role with Hughes out of the lineup. In Florida, left winger Eetu Luostarinen is out on a week-to-week basis after suffering burns in a barbecue incident. Luostarinen had eight points (2 G, 6 A) with 15 shots on goal in his last eight games before the injury. Both Mackie Samoskevich and Jesper Boqvist are looking at bigger roles on the left flank amid a run of injuries in South Florida.

#20 The Boston Bruins will be without top defenceman Charlie McAvoy indefinitely when he required facial surgery after a slapshot from Montreal Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson hit him in the face. With McAvoy out, Hampus Lindholm becomes even more important for the Bruins, and he does have five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past six games. Dallas defenceman Thomas Harley is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, which means Miro Heiskanen will get PP1 time at the point in Dallas. The Stars’ second unit sees Esa Lindell and journeyman Kyle Capobianco playing defence, though neither has much offensive value at this point.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:25:35 +0000

ELMONT, NY - JANUARY 16: Philadelphia Flyers Right Wing Travis Konecny (11) controls the puck during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders on January 16, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

The Flyers missed the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season in 2024-2025, managing 76 points (33-39-10). They fired head coach John Tortorella late in the season, replacing him with Brad Shaw on an interim basis. The Flyers ranked 26th with a 47.3 Corsi percentage though they fared better when it came to shot quality, capturing 51.5 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play, ranking 11th. Philadelphia’s power play was largely ineffective, generating 4.63 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play, which ranked 30th. They ranked 13th with 6.88 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play, so penalty killing was at least solid. Goaltending was a huge problem for the Flyers, with the trio of Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov combining for a save percentage of .879.

What’s Changed?

The Flyers dipped into their past and hired former Flyers winger Rick Tocchet to be their head coach. Tocchet had a .608 points percentage in three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has coached a total of 22 playoff games in his career, so he is an experienced coach without a lot of postseason success. The Flyers made a big trade to acquire Trevor Zegras, a highly skilled forward who had fallen out of favor in Anaheim but has highlight-reel puck skills and he could be a big hit in Philadelphia if he and Tocchet can connect. The Flyers also signed veteran centre Christian Dvorak to add stability down the middle, defenceman Noah Juulsen who played for Tocchet in Vancouver, and goaltender Dan Vladar, who has a chance to earn a big role between the pipes.

What would success look like?

It’s a big ask for the Flyers to get to the playoffs, since it would take a 15-to-20-point improvement, but it’s a worthy objective, especially if the Flyers can sort out their goaltending issues. The moves they made this offseason were for a team that intends to get better now, and after five years of missing the playoffs, it’s understandable that they want to get back to the postseason. On the other hand, if the Flyers don’t make the playoffs, losing enough to secure a high lottery pick would be success, too. They could always use more high-end skill players, so a finish that would help in that regard could be deemed successful, too.

What could go wrong?

The worst-case scenario for the Flyers is that they end up stuck in the middle, not quite good enough to reach the playoffs and not bad enough to secure a valuable draft pick. The Flyers certainly have incentive to push hard for a playoff spot, with a veteran-laden team and a coach who will push them to get there, but if the team falls off the pace, then it’s important that Philadelphia stock up on future assets. That includes moving veterans for picks and, ideally, landing a high first-round pick in the 2026 Draft. Just missing the playoffs and landing a pick in the teens is not where this team should want to be when the season ends.

Top Breakout Candidate

There are a few other promising young players on the Flyers, but Matvei Michkov is the most likely player to become a star. The seventh pick in the 2023 Draft, Michkov finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting after tallying 63 points in 80 games. He had an outstanding finish to the season, putting up 16 points (6 G, 10 A), and 40 shots on goal in his last 12 games, and if he remains committed to generating shots like that, his point production could take off.

FORWARDS

Travis Konecny

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	45	72	0.91

The only player who resembled some form of consistency for the Flyers, Konecny is in it for the long-haul as he starts the first year of an eight-year contract. He is the longest tenured Flyer behind Couturier and has maintained a high level of play despite all the chaos and instability from the organization. The simplicity of his game helps matters, as Konecny’s a straight-line player who loves to shoot and is excellent at picking corners even when he’s forced to take quicker shots off the rush. While most forwards begin to plateau when they hit their late 20’s, Konecny has posted career highs in points each of the last three seasons, bringing an elite combination of speed, tenacity and stickhandling to the table. He showed some versatility last season as a playmaker, having to pass to create most of his scoring chances and getting the results with 52 assists. This should be exciting news for Michkov, as the two could form a potentially lethal combination if they get regular minutes together, as they did down the stretch last year. The Flyers didn’t like playing this line too much because it was feast-or-famine with the chances they gave up, but the rate the two were converting at was hard to ignore. The question with him is how long he can keep this up because the Flyers have played him regularly in the 20–21-minute range the last three years. They’ll look to do that again as he remains one of the team’s only reliable forward options on the roster.

Matvei Michkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	30	46	76	0.94

It’s only a matter of time before Michkov is the Flyers best player. He already made a strong case for that title with the torrid pace he scored at down the stretch. A point-per-game player after the Four Nations break, Michkov gave the coaching staff no choice but to give him all the leeway he needed. If there was an opportunity to create offence, Michkov was going to milk every ounce of his shift length to get it. He spent a lot of his time in the defensive zone playing above the puck, looking for loose plays and turnovers so he could strike the other way. He had the skill to capitalize on them too as he didn’t just lead the Flyers in shots off the rush, he was one of the best players in the entire league. Up there with the likes of Martin Necas, Jack Hughes and Nikita Kucherov. His game is still a work in progress when he’s on the cycle in the offensive zone. He was always looking to make plays and trying to fit pucks through traffic. He trusts his skill level to a dangerous degree because while it led to some beautiful goals, it also led to turnovers and chances the other way. This is something that doesn’t necessarily need to be reined in but controlled to a degree because you still want him to do what got him drafted so high and look for the high-percentage play. He should get better at this with more experience, as he got a lot of it last year, and had an excellent season despite some growing pains. He’s shown game-breaking ability early and it should excite the Flyers about what’s to come.

Sean Couturier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	17	31	48	0.69

The Flyers captain can only hope for more stability with the coaching change. The longtime 1C of the Flyers started last season as the fourth line left wing and even after regaining his usual spot, his ice-time was limited in the middle of the season, being taken off both power play and penalty kill units for almost a month. While the days of Couturier producing like a first line center are likely over, the last two seasons should probably come with an asterisk, as he was returning from a two-year absence the first year and last season was marred by strange deployment to say the least. Couturier also had the worst two seasons of his career in terms of finishing chances and while the volume of chances he created last year also decreased, he’s always been an above-average shooter so there is hope for a bounce-back season. His ability to drive play, however, was very strong as he kept the Flyers defensive game in check whenever he was out there. How much he can drive the offence now is a fair question, but he should get some help if he continues to develop chemistry with the emerging star Matvei Michkov. Barring a major breakout from Trevor Zegras, Couturier is still the team’s best option at center, so he will have plenty of opportunities to put the last two years behind him.

Owen Tippett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	25	52	0.66

It’s not often that a player scores eight fewer goals while shooting at a higher percentage than he did the previous year, but that was the case with Owen Tippett. The speedy forward is in the second year of an eight-year deal he earned after a breakout season and last year was a hard fall from grace after looking like a blossoming star for a couple years. His skillset is easy to notice to the naked eye because he’s very quick, gets a lot of puck touches per game and loves to shoot. His flaws are also easy to notice for the same reason because while the goals and his quick-strike offence will impress some, others might notice how often he misses the net or that he could use his linemates better rather than playing a one-man game all the time. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, as even in a down year Tippett will still get you solid secondary scoring and his ability to enter the zone frequently and get chances is still going to be something that other teams have to prepare for. The way he started and ended the year is concerning, though. He scored only one goal in 11 games in October and finished the season with only two goals in 22 games after February. Goal-scorers are streaky by nature and with Tippett being such a volume shooter, stretches like this get noticed more and why last year left such a sour note in Flyers fans mouths.

Trevor Zegras

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	16	37	53	0.72

Zegras spent more of the last two seasons either on injured reserve or in trade rumors than he did on the highlight reels. It was a steep decline from a player some saw as one of the future faces of the league. Some of that is valuing flash over substance with his knack for making ridiculous looking plays. Still, Zegras was someone who, at worst, was a lower-end first line player during his first couple years with the Ducks. He soon became someone they wanted to move on from and the Flyers made a good low-risk gamble to get him. There’s still a lot up in the air about the type of player he is. He’s been yo-yoed back and forth between center and wing, but the Flyers are likely to give him a run in the middle with the hole they have there. The one thing that’s stayed constant is that Zegras is an excellent playmaker. He reads plays from behind the net better than most and he’s excellent at getting the puck off the wall when playing on the cycle. The Flyers have the talent who can complement him well, with Michkov as an emerging star and a few wingers who love to shoot the puck in Tippett and Konecny. His defensive game has also come a long way from where it once was, so maintaining that while seeing if they can reignite what made him special in his rookie season will be a key factor for the Flyers this season. The question is whether that ability is still there or if Zegras is just a highly skilled middle six guy at his peak.

Christian Dvorak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	16	25	41	0.51

Dvorak appears to be a stopgap to get the Flyers through the season, albeit an expensive one at $5.4 million. There was a premium on veteran centers in the market, so it’s understandable. He is now reunited with Rick Tocchet from his Arizona days where he played his best hockey and Dvorak always got the best results when paired with a puck-hog like a Taylor Hall or Conor Garland. The Flyers have a few players who fit that mold, but maybe not in the same role that Dvorak is slotted to play. If Zegras doesn’t work out at center, Dvorak's not a bad option in that spot to shore things up. He can do a lot of the little things like win faceoffs and kill penalties so the more skilled guy doesn’t have to absorb all the defensive minutes. His offensive production will hinge on who he plays with, although he did fairly well for his standards last year with 12 goals in a checking line role alongside Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson. He has great hands and can get to the net but needs someone to help him get the puck there, although the ship has likely sailed on him being a high-impact offensive player. He might be able to sneak on the Flyers second power play unit out of camp.

Tyson Foerster

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	23	20	43	0.52

One of the players sticking around from the Flyers ex-prospect core, Foerster found a niche for himself as an excellent two-way forward. He was a dark horse Calder pick his rookie year and could continue to get Selke votes as he progresses. He’s a big, powerful skater at 215 pounds and has great hands around the net. One of the few Flyers forwards who could create offence when the rush game wasn’t open, Foerster did an excellent job of working the cycle game in the offensive zone, knowing when to go to the front of the net and when to read off his teammates to keep the play going on. Watching him is a great way to learn how good defensive play can start in the offensive zone, as Foerster does an excellent job of staying above the puck at all times, making the right play and covering for pinching defencemen. He was someone the Flyers could count on to settle the play down when they needed to and provide some extra offence in their middle six. It earned him somewhat of an elevated role, playing more than your typical third liner. His playmaking could still improve, but he is set to be a mainstay on the Flyers roster for the time being.

Bobby Brink

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	31	45	0.57

This is somewhat of a “prove it” year for Brink with his RFA deal expiring and right now he’s somewhat in the middle of convincing the Flyers that he can be an impact player. A injury-riddled rookie season was followed up with a solid 41 points with Brink showing flashes of being a great playmaker. He’s smaller, but controls the perimeter game well, making great touch passes from the wall into traffic and excelling in the give-and-go game off the rush. He’s willing to go to the net but gets boxed out easily by bigger defencemen. An elite player in college, Brink has yet to show he can do the same in the NHL. The type of game he plays requires high-level linemates or a finisher to get the most out of hm, but you have to earn your way to those roles in the NHL and he’s on his way to at least getting a shot if he can progress. Being a dog on the forecheck, as he has shown he is willing to do, also helps. The two things working against him is the Flyers acquiring a similar player in Zegras, who could make Brink redundant if he moves to the wing (and takes his power play time) and Brink undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, his second hip surgery in three years. Still, he showed enough in his sophomore season to make you believe.

Noah Cates

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	14	25	39	0.48

Cates emerged as an intriguing player a few years ago, receiving some Calder and Selke love from those who follow advanced stats, and it caught some people off-guard. Mostly because if you don’t watch the Flyers you have probably never heard of him before. While he didn’t follow it up in his sophomore season, he had saw a nice return to form last year and formed an excellent defensive line with Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. Cates starts virtually every shift in the defensive zone, so adding Brink added a nice wrinkle to this line as someone who could spark the transition game. This isn’t Cates specialty, but he does a good job of complementing it with good positioning and helping start the rush from his own zone. He had the highest successful exit percentage on the Flyers and was their best forward at not turning the puck over on breakouts. It’s made him a go-to option for their penalty kill and he should be a favourite of the new coaching staff for that alone. The offence is gravy with him but having a third liner who can get you close to 40 points is always going to be valuable. Cates’ good hands and knack for deflecting pucks also helps with that, as this line feeds the point for a lot of their offence.

DEFENCE

Travis Sanheim

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	30	40	0.49

It took a while for Sanheim to really blossom as a top-tier defenceman. He was always someone who could play the big minutes and hold his own, but the dynamic playmaking ability didn’t start to show until a couple years ago. Having somewhat of a trial by fire introduction to the NHL paved the way for him, as he had to build his game from the defensive zone out, learning when to make safe plays and when to be aggressive. He always had the skillset in him but was never in the right situation to show it. That has changed the last couple of years, as he is one of the most active defenders in the league at leading zone entries and he’s been able to use his high-level passing ability for playmaking rather than moving the play forward. The area where it’s helped the most is when he can patrol the offensive zone to look for a deflection or go cross-ice. You might not expect him to be one of the league leaders in that category, but the stats back that up. As the Flyers forward corps continues to improve, he should see more of a reward for it on the scoresheet. Even without the offence, Sanheim has the raw skills of a top-pair defenceman. He skates laterally incredibly well, can keep up with top forwards and his rush defending has gotten better with age. The new wrinkle in his game could help propel him to the next level, although some of that might depend on if he gets power play time too.

Cam York

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
48	4	17	21	0.27

York’s profile and college stats suggest that he’s an offensive, puck-moving defenceman but if you watched him last year you might think he’s a shutdown defenceman. He didn’t get to play with the puck much and spent most of his shifts chasing forwards around the defensive zone. A product of a rough environment on a struggling Philly team but even when you consider that, York did an admirable job in this role. Defencemen who can skate are how the modern shutdown game is played, and York does a lot of the little things that mesh with it. He has an annoying presence in the defensive zone with how he stays with forwards or gets a stick on a puck to deflect it out of the way. Also not afraid to use his body to defend and kill the cycle even if he’s not the biggest guy. The common problem was that a lot of these positive plays from him went to waste often because the forwards couldn’t get the puck out after that. He still formed a solid pair with Sanheim, but there is more on the bone with York that the Flyers can unlock. It’s uncertain if the offence is still part of the package for him, as they’re likely giving the power play minutes to Drysdale and York has been transitioned to more of a heavy penalty killing duty. Finding your niche is what the NHL is all about and York seems to have done this well.

Jamie Drysdale

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	8	21	29	0.37

In the final year of his contract, this is likely Drysdale’s last chance to prove that he can be a long-term piece for the Flyers. Last year wasn’t exactly encouraging because they fed him top power play minutes only to be rewarded with two goals and seven points with the man advantage. Not exactly what you want to see when you’re known for quarterbacking a power play, especially when you have the reputation as a defensive liability on top of that. There was a grace period with evaluating Drysdale, as he dealt with major injuries for two years, but he was injury free last year and didn’t do much to set himself apart from the rest of the Flyers. There was also a level of diminishing returns when looking at what he provided while others like Sanheim got less power play time and roster hopefuls like Emil Andrae had to wait their turn to play after impressing in their initial NHL stints. There’s still some hope for Drysdale, as this year brings a fresh start (with an old teammate in Zegras) and he has shown he can be an impactful offensive player in the NHL before, albeit all the way back in 2022. He has the raw skills, is an excellent skater and can walk the blue line better than most but translating it to anything outside of overtime was a challenge.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	3	16	19	0.29

One of the few players who has gotten better in a rough period of Flyers hockey, Ristolainen’s made the transition from being overplayed and unreliable to a solid middle-of-the-roster player. This started a few years ago when they had Ristolainen focus more on killing plays in the defensive zone through being less physical, acting more as a disrupter and getting pucks out instead of trying to go coast-to-coast. He adapted well, but he also saw his minutes cut back to 17-18 minutes a game while playing on the third pair. Last year, he got back into the 20–21-minute range and posted similar results which were solid, albeit nothing mind blowing. He also saw a return to being more involved in the play offensively, rating average in scoring chance creation for a defenceman and it led to him being used on the power play again, granted with only three assists to show for it. Much of the credit for his resurgence has been given to former Flyers assistant Brad Shaw, who has a reputation of getting the best results out of defencemen everywhere he’s coached. With him departing to New Jersey’s bench, it will be interesting to see if Ristolainen’s play holds up.

Goal

Samuel Ersson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
49	19	22	5	3	.900	2.98

The Philadelphia Flyers were dealt a miserable hand in net when starter Carter Hart saw his contract terminated by the team during a highly publicized sexual assault trial and prospect Ivan Fedotov saw his arrival in North America delayed by a detainment by the Russian military. Although Fedotov finally made his way to North America last season, he and fellow tandem partner Samuel Ersson held the distinction of making up the league's worst pairing statistically. Among starters, only Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alexandar Georgiev had worse years than Ersson, and Fedotov couldn't seem to find his footing well enough to stem the bleeding; he fared better than Ersson, but not by much.

The pair might get some help this upcoming season in the form of former Calgary Flames backup Dan Vladar, who left after losing the starting gig in Calgary to wunderkind Dustin Wolf. Vladar's lanky stature and smooth, speedy skating make him great for last-second desperation saves and extra reach on a defensive breakdown, something that both Fedotov and Ersson mightily struggled with last season. But from a numbers standpoint, Vladar is as much a reclamation project as he is a form of reinforcement for the other two Philadelphia could ice next season. The Flyers seem to be struggling to attract free agents to fill their goaltending depth chart, and that could make for a painful few years until they can figure out their long-term plans and develop some new options to offer.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – MONTREAL CANADIENS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Player Profiles + Team Preview – Ryan Dadoun, Goaltending – Catherine Silverman — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:58:53 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 22: Cole Caufield (22) of the Montreal Canadiens waits for the puck during the first period of the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens on November 22, 2022, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)

Review: After posting a 22-49-11 record in 2021-22, the Canadiens were looking for incremental steps last year and that’s what they got. Nick Suzuki put forth his second straight 60-plus point campaign and is looking like a solid cornerstone of the Canadiens’ future. Cole Caufield was encouraging too with 26 goals and 36 points in 46 contests, though a shoulder injury complicated matters. Injuries were unfortunately a recurring theme for Montreal with forwards Kirby Dach, Jonathan Drouin, Sean Monahan and top defenseman Mike Matheson all missing significant chunks of time. Goaltender Sam Montembeault was able to stay healthy, but he had a miserable time, posting a 3.42 GAA and .901 save percentage in 40 contests. To be fair, Montreal ranked 30th in five-on-five expected goals against (203.85), so Montembeault wasn’t getting any support from those in front of him. With all that hardship, the Canadiens’ 31-45-6 record could be seen as the smallest of wins, especially given that it was a 13-point improvement compared to the prior campaign.

What’s Changed?Drouin walked as an unrestricted free agent, but Montreal was still able to bolster its promising young forward group with the acquisition of Alex Newhookfrom Colorado. The Canadiens also acquired Casey DeSmith from Pittsburgh, adding another veteran to their goaltending mix.

What would success look like? There’s so much potential here. If Monahan stays healthy and performs like he was in 2022-23 before getting hurt, then a bounce back to 50 points is possible. If Caufield also remains healthy then he might breach the 30-goal and 60-point marks for the first time. If head coach Martin St. Louis can guide Newhook like he has some of Montreal’s other young forwards, then the 22-year-old might be in line for a breakout year. If Slafkovsky, taken first overall in 2022, had a good summer and takes some of the lessons from his subpar rookie campaign, he could breakout too.

What could go wrong? If ifif. So much could break the Canadiens’ way, but Montreal is dealing with a lot of unknowns. By far the worst of it is this: Even if everything outlined above happens, the Canadiens could still miss the playoffs. The defense was horrendous last year and is likely to lag the growth of the offense. In goal there’s no clear solution, even after adding DeSmith, who struggled with Pittsburgh last year. Plus, the competition in the Atlantic Division is tough, making the margin for error slim.

Top Breakout Candidate:It’s got to be Caufield. After all, the 2022-23 campaign would have been his breakout season if not for injury. Of all the “ifs” outlined above, he’s the closest Montreal has to a sure thing. The talent is clearly there and even with all the ups, downs and injuries he’s gone through, Caufield still has accumulated 49 goals over the past two years. There should be a lot more scoring in his future.

Forwards

Nick Suzuki - C

Montreal is building a promising young core of forwards, and Suzuki is at the center of that movement. After becoming the 31st captain in Montreal’s storied history before the season began, the Canadien center showed why he’s the new face of the franchise by scoring 26 goals and 66 points in 82 contests. That gave him a staggering 28-point cushion over Kirby Dach, who finished second in the scoring race. Part of the reason Suzuki easily led the team in points was because Dach and Cole Caufield were held back by injuries, finishing with 58 and 46 games played, respectively, in 2022-23, but that also makes what Suzuki did more impressive. Under ideal circumstances, he would have played regularly with Dach and Caufield, but that trio only amounted to just 27.2% of Suzuki’s even-strength minutes. Suzuki ended up dealing with a revolving door of linemates, which was far from a good position for him, but he managed to perform regardless. A combination of injuries and the team still being in a rebuilding state also left Montreal 29th on the power play with just a 16.1% success rate. Suzuki was leaned on heavily with the man advantage and recorded a team-best 17 power-play points, but one must wonder how he might do if the Canadiens overall improved in that regard. The good news is the rest of the young core should start catching up to the 24-year-old, giving him more to work with. Coupled with Suzuki’s own continued development, there’s a fair chance he’ll reach the 70-point mark for the first time, if not higher.

Cole Caufield - LW

Montreal signed Caufield to an eight-year, $62.8 million contract over the summer. It is quite the commitment to make to a forward who has never recorded more than 43 points in a single season, but in this case, it could be a steal for the Canadiens. Caufield’s career has gotten off to a promising start, though there have also been major roadblocks. He struggled terribly under head coach Dominique Ducharme during the 2021-22 campaign, posting a goal and eight points in 30 outings, but once Ducharme was replaced by Martin St. Louis, Caufield underwent a complete reversal, scoring 22 goals and 35 points in 37 contests. Standing at 5’ 7”, Caufield’s size has been a point of concern for a while.Which is something St. Louis can relate to, having faced the same sort of questions during his playing days, so it seems appropriate that the new bench boss was able to get the most out of the creative winger. The 22-year-old’s success under St. Louis continued into the 2022-23 campaign with him scoring 26 goals and 36 points in 46 games through Jan. 19th before shoulder problems ended his season. He did show determination before that though, having separated his shoulder Dec. 23, he attempted to remain in the lineup after it was popped back in. However, after it happened again Jan. 3rd, the recommendation was made to undergo surgery. Even then, Caufield said he would have pushed through it if Montreal was in the running for a playoff spot. So long as he stays healthy, Caufield should easily set new career highs and maybe even flirt with the 40-goal milestone.

Josh Anderson - RW

Anderson is the type of player that teams always value and sometimes overvalue: the big forward who isn’t afraid to use his strength to make life miserable for the opposition while also not looking completely out of place with the puck on his stick. Anderson had 21 goals and 32 points in 69 contests last season, making it the sixth time in seven years he’s finished above 15 goals (the lone exception being 2019-20 when he was limited to 26 games) and the second time in his career he’s surpassed the 20-goal milestone. That’s an okay level of production, but it’s nowhere near enough to warrant his $5.5 million cap hit. It’s his gritty play – he recorded 72 PIM and 139 hits last season – that makes him come even close to justifying his pay. Unfortunately, Anderson’s aggressive style has come at a cost, with the 29-year-old missing 26 contests over the last two years. Injuries are going to continue to be a point of concern, especially after his 2022-23 campaign ended due to a high-ankle sprain sustained March 22nd. If he can stay healthy, then Anderson might earn an opportunity on the top line, creating space for 5’ 7” Cole Caufield and 5’ 11”Nick Suzuki. That role won’t lead to the towering forward being an offensive force in his own right, but his presence will be good news for his linemates.

Kirby Dach - RW

When the Blackhawks selected Dach with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, they were looking at a big center who could skate well and was tough to lodge the puck from once it was in his possession. He didn’t end up doing much with Chicago though, despite getting every opportunity, and after being limited to nine goals and 26 points in 70 contests in 2021-22, it was decided that a change of scenery might be in his best interests. The Canadiens clearly thought they could get the most out of Dach, sacrificing the 2022 No. 13 and No. 66 overall picks to get him and, so far, that bet has worked out. He set career highs with 14 goals and 38 points in 58 contests with the Canadiens last season despite playing just four games past Feb. 14th due to injury troubles. Montreal often had him shift to the wing to work alongside Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, complementing the smaller forwards with his size. Depending on who is healthy to open the campaign, Dach might find himself pushed off the top line in favor of fellow big man Josh Anderson, but even if that happens, the 22-year-old should still play big minutes, likely alongside Sean Monahan and Brendan Gallagher. Dach is also expected to stay on the top power-play unit regardless, which is important given that 16 of his 38 points last year came with the man advantage. There is reason for cautious optimism here and to hope that, provided Dach stays healthy, he’ll reach the 50-point milestone.

Christian Dvorak - C

Dvorak can be best described as fine. He had 10 goals and 28 points in 64 appearances last season, which is a bit below average for him, but not enough of a decline to be startling. He’s never reached the 40-point milestone, and the 27-year-old probably never will, especially if injuries keep getting in the way. He didn’t play past March 7th last season because of a knee issue that led to surgery and hasn’t participated in over 70 games in a single campaign since 2017-18. Still, when he is available, he’s okay defensively, helps kill penalties (finished fourth on Montreal with an average shorthanded ice time of 2:18) and is an asset on the draw (had a 52% faceoff success rate last season and is at 52.4% over his career). That’s not enough to get people excited about Dvorak, but at least it justifies using him to center the third or, when necessary, second line, despite his mediocre offensive output. It’s also sufficient to make his $4.45 million cap hit acceptable and potentially even make him a trade candidate if a contender is looking for depth up the middle at the deadline. Regardless of who he plays for though, Dvorak is likely to be fine, and nothing more.

Brendan Gallagher - RW

There was a time when Gallagher was a glue player for the Canadiens thanks to his work ethic and goal-scoring prowess, but his six-year, $39 million contract, which began with the 2021-22 campaign, is shaping up to be a disaster. After surpassing the 30-goal milestone in each of 2017-18 and 2018-19, followed by him contributing 22 goals and 43 points in 59 outings in 2019-20, the 31-year-old has failed to even record 25 points in any of the last three seasons. Last year was a new low for him, finishing with eight goals and 14 points in 37 contests. Ankle issues took a toll, but even when he was healthy, Gallagher wasn’t productive, with his 0.38 points per game being a career worst. Even on a rebuilding quad, Gallagher also saw his role diminish, from an average of 16:55 of ice time in 2019-20 to 14:17 last season. The silver lining is he’s healthy going into the 2023-24 campaign and feels upbeat about how his offseason training went. There’s also an opportunity for him to play a bigger role after Montreal parted ways with Mike Hoffman and Jonathan Drouin over the summer. Gallagher is still a big risk going into the season, but those at least provide some reasons to hope for a bounce back campaign.

Alex Newhook - LW

Opportunities have been hard to come by for Newhook. Taken by Colorado with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, he served primarily in a bottom-six role with the Avalanche, consequently providing just 27 goals and 63 points in 153 contests over the last two years. A change of scenery was warranted and, after Montreal’s acquisition of Kirby Dach worked out perfectly a year prior, the Canadiens decided to see if lightning would strike twice by trading for Newhook over the summer. However, while Dach was a nice fit for Montreal’s top-six, Newhook again might struggle to get an opportunity. Newhook is a natural center, but between Nick Suzuki occupying that slot on the first line, Dach or Sean Monahan likely taking the second unit position and Christian Dvorak being a natural fit for the third line, Newhook is probably going to have to shift to the wing. Even then, there’s no guarantee he’ll find a top-six spot and might instead serve on the third line. However, that scenario only works if everyone stays healthy. While Newhook has managed to be durable, several of Montreal’s skilled forwards haven’t been as reliable. Combine that with Newhook’s versatility to slot in as a winger or center, and he might be the first forward to move up to a top-six role if Montreal runs into injury issues. With that in mind, the 22-year-old will be someone to keep an eye on, because while at first glance he seems like a fair bet to record 30-40 points, circumstances might lead to this being a bigger season for him.

Sean Monahan - C

The 2022-23 campaign was one that offered a glimmer of hope for Monahan, but in some ways, it was also his most disheartening yet. After undergoing hip surgery in 2021 and then again in 2022, Calgary was ready to move on. He was far removed from his 82-point campaign in 2018-19, recording just eight goals and 23 points in 65 contests in 2021-22, making him a liability even when healthy. The rebuilding Canadiens were happy to accept Monahan along with a conditional 2025 first-round pick in exchange for covering the final season of his seven-year, $44.625 million contract. Montreal gave Monahan a chance to serve as a top-six forward, and he rewarded them by recording six goals and 17 points in 25 outings. In terms of points per game, it was his best showing since 2019-20, but he didn’t play past Dec. 5th due to a foot injury followed by season-ending groin surgery. Montreal still liked him enough to ink him to a one-year, $2 million contract over the summer, but the short-term nature of the deal underscores the risk he still comes with. Monahan is penciled in to start the season as the Canadiens’ second-line center, but will his body allow him to do that over the course of an 82-game campaign? After all, he’s now undergone three surgeries in as many years. Even if he does stay healthy, how productive will he be? He showed promise in 2022-23, but 25 games are hardly an ideal sample size. The 28-year-old (29 on Oct. 12) is at very least a comeback candidate, but a high-risk one.

Juraj Slafkovsky - LW

First overall picks are often expected to be ready to compete in the NHL right away and many are up for that challenge. At first glance, Slafkovsky, who was taken by Montreal with the top pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, appeared ready to step into the world’s best league. Not only did the 6’ 3”, 238-pound forward already possess NHL size, but he had experience playing with adults after scoring five goals and 10 points in 31 games with TPS Turku of the Finnish League in 2021-22. Slafkovsky also participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics, scoring seven goals in seven contests with Slovakia and contributed another three goals and nine points in eight outings during the 2022 World Championships. Despite that, he was limited to four goals and 10 points in 39 contests as a rookie with Montreal. To be fair, injuries, which prevented him from playing past Jan. 15th, contributed to his poor showing. Coach Martin St. Louis also attempted to ease him into the lineup, giving the Slovakian native an average of just 12:13 of ice time, which significantly reduced his offensive opportunities. There was a silver lining though, because while he wasn’t a big threat with the puck, Slafkovsky did utilize his size, recording 33 PIM and 53 hits. Unfortunately, in the short-term, he might continue to serve in a bottom-six role. Slafkovsky has the potential to eventually establish himself as a top liner, but it might be a few years before we see that side of him.

Joel Armia - RW

Although two seasons remain on Armia’s two-year, $13.6 million contract, he probably isn’t part of Montreal’s long-term plans. The 30-year-old is far removed from the Canadiens' rebuild-driven youth movement and while Armia is entering his sixth campaign with Montreal, it would be a stretch to call him a staple of the team. Injuries have played a role in that, with Armia failing to log more than 60 contests in any year with the Habs, but his relative lack of offensive contributions – he’s recorded just 20 goals and 42 points in 144 contests over the last three seasons – also make him easy to overlook. Still, the Finnish winger has his uses. He’s fine defensively and can be confidently plugged in on the penalty kill. He’s also got size at 6-foot-3, 216 pounds, and while he's not the most physical forward out there, he has dished out 6.58 hits per 60 minutes over the last three campaigns, which was good for sixth on Montreal in that span (min. 50 games). Looking ahead, Armia should be penciled in on the Canadiens’ third line, though their younger forwards might do enough to lodge him from that position. It wouldn’t be surprising if his average ice time in 2023-24 dipped below the 14:57 he saw last season, and he might even see some time as a healthy scratch.

Defense

Mike Matheson - D

Acquired by Montreal from Pittsburgh over the summer of 2022 as part of the Jeff Petry trade, Matheson was given a golden opportunity with the Canadiens. He averaged a respectable 18:48 of ice time in Pittsburgh while providing 11 goals and 31 points in 74 contests in 2021-22, but Montreal saw Matheson as its clear No. 1 defenseman. With that in mind, Matheson jumped to 24:27 per game last season, including an average of 3:11 with the man advantage. Injury troubles during the first half of the campaign prevented 2022-23 from being a true breakout season, but he was still incredible when healthy, contributing eight goals and 34 points (nine on the power play) in 48 outings. He also helped kill penalties, blocked 80 shots and, while plus/minus always needs to be taken with a grain of salt, finished with a plus-seven rating on a rebuilding squad. In other words, he was everything Montreal could have hoped for and then some. To make matters better, the Canadiens will get three more years of Matheson at a $4.875 million cap hit. His injury history is a concern – which is a recurring theme when evaluating Canadiens players – but if he can stay healthy, then it’s not unrealistic to believe he can finish with 50-60 points in 2023-24.

David Savard - D

Savard is 32 years old and will turn 33 on Oct. 22, so he might be in the twilight of his career by the time Montreal’s rebuild is in the rearview mirror. However, he deserves a lot of credit for doing the hard work now that might serve as the foundation of the team in the future. The Quebec native sacrificed himself last year, blocking a career-high 176 shots despite playing in just 62 contests, while also serving in a leading role on the penalty kill and acting as a mentor for the team’s young defenders. That culminated in him receiving Montreal’s Jacques Beauchamp Trophy, which goes to the player deemed most dominant without earning any other honor and can be seen as a way to highlight otherwise underappreciated players. One person who clearly didn’t underappreciate him was head coach Martin St. Louis, who asked Savard to average 22:23 of ice time. As younger defensemen like Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron start to come into their own, Savard could find himself being gradually phased out. The veteran blueliner is still likely to see good minutes this season, but he probably won’t find himself second to only Mike Matheson in average ice time again. Even if Savard’s role doesn’t decrease, he’s not much of an offensive threat and shouldn’t be counted on to meaningfully exceed his 2022-23 totals of three goals and 20 points.

Kaiden Guhle - D

Guhle is far from the Canadiens’ only young defenseman, but he might be theirmost promising one. He’s got size and knows how to get the most out of that advantage, both with his physical play and by competing in tough areas. Adored more for his defensive skills, he wasn’t seen as having a ton of offensive upside when he was selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, but that aspect of his game has developed nicely, making him a factor in all situations. With that skill set, rather than ease him into the lineup, Montreal asked Guhle to play an average of 20:31 of ice time in his rookie campaign, and he responded by recording four goals, 18 points, 27 PIM, 77 blocks and 84 hits in 44 outings last season. It was a strong showing, to the point where he might have even garnered a small amount of Calder Trophy consideration if injuries hadn’t gotten in the way. As it is, he’s primed to have a solid sophomore campaign. His power-play ice time was limited to 0:35 per game last season, but all Guhle’s offensive production as a rookie came at even-strength anyways, so it’s not unreasonable to believe he can flirt with the 30-point milestone even without being usedon the man advantage. The 21-year-old is also a good bet to surpass the 150 mark in each of blocks and hits provided he can stay healthy.

Goaltending

Samuel Montembeault - G

Even five years ago, no one would have believed it if someone had told them that the Montreal Canadiens would be spending the final half of goaltender Carey Price’s contract scrambling to figure out who on Earth to start each night in net – and even fewer would have believed that former Florida Panthers prospect Samuel Montembeault would be leading the charge for a rotating trio including himself, former St. Louis Blues starter Jake Allen, and former Pittsburgh Penguins backup Casey DeSmith.

But of all the options Montreal has to choose from, Montembeault may be their most reliable. Although the team has struggled and fallen firmly into rebuild territory, the 26-year-old backstop made the best of the situation. His raw numbers weren’t overly impressive, but his goals saved above expected put him in the conversation for goaltenders who made the most with the least league-wide; he was able to scrape together the best performance of anyone in Montreal over the last few years, despite being a mid-season pickup initially only brought on board to help the team weather the storm of too many injuries. He plays a fairly goal line-based game, preferring to utilize an impressive lower-body game and above-average flexibility to seal off the bottom of the net but staying on his feet on his goal line for longer to prevent holes from opening up at the top of the goal itself. And perhaps most importantly for Montreal, he does well preventing rebounds; while some goaltenders thrive spitting the puck back out into traffic, the somewhat disjointed structure in front of Montembeault and Allen last season made it difficult to have much faith in what might happen if the puck stayed in play after a first or second shot. That likely isn’t enough to push Montreal back out of the basement just yet, but it should be enough to keep them from entering free-fall – which might be all they’re asking for.

Projected starts: 55-60

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – MONTREAL CANADIENS – NHL Player Profiles

Ryan Dadoun – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 19:49:16 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - JULY 02: Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) gets ready to shoot the puck during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Final game 3 between the Tampa Bay Lightning versus the Montreal Canadiens on July 02, 2021, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Nick Suzuki

To say the Montreal Canadiens had a rough 2021-22 campaign would be putting it lightly, but there were silver linings and Suzuki was one of the big ones. He set career-highs with 21 goals and 61 points in 82 games while averaging 20:31 minutes. The 23-year-old has established himself as a strong two-way center who can be deployed in all situations. He even averaged 1:30 shorthanded minutes last season, up from 0:45 minutes per game in 2020-21. At 5-foot-11, 201 pounds, he also has a physical aspect of his game, finishing fourth among Canadiens forwards with 89 hits. As good as he was overall though, it’s worth noting that like the team overall, he did significantly better after Martin St. Louis took over as the head coach. Under bench boss Dominique Ducharme, Suzuki had nine goals and 27 points in 45 games. It was good enough to lead the Canadiens in scoring, but it’s still a far cry from the 12 goals and 34 points in 37 contests he recorded under St. Louis. The new head coach did a great job of activating the team’s forwards and Suzuki should benefit from playing a major role during St. Louis’ first full season as a bench boss. Suzuki is set to begin an eight-year, $63 million contract this season. If he continues to mature as he has been, that should be a good deal for the Canadiens.

Brendan Gallagher

For much of Gallagher’s career, he’s been the type of player who you’d much rather have with you than against you. While his physical play doesn’t translate to a ton of hits, he nevertheless plays a gritty game. He’ll push to the front of the net and that’s his place of business when it comes to scoring goals. He also excels at getting under opponents’ skin and tends to draw penalties as a result. In 2021-22, he finished 15th in the league for penalties drawn/60 minutes (1.93) among those who played a minimum of 30 games. All that is particularly impressive coming from a player who lacks a size advantage. Gallagher is 5-foot-9, 184 pounds, which makes him among the smaller players in the league. His style of play has unquestionably has its benefits. At his best, he’s a fantastic winger, who surpassed the 30-goal milestone in back-to-back seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The downside though has been the injuries he's suffered along the way and while he’s only now entering his 30s, there’s concerns that his game might lead to him aging faster than others. Perhaps we saw the first signs of that last season when he was limited to seven goals and 24 points in 56 games. However, it’s worth noting that he had an uncharacteristically low 4.9 shooting percentage, lacked consistent linemates, and was playing on a struggling team. So, it could have been a combination of bad luck and unfavorable circumstances that held him back in 2021-22 rather than him truly declining. Canadiens fans can be forgiven for feeling some anxiety when it comes to Gallagher given that he’s only through one season of the six-year, $39 million commitment Montreal made to him, but he is a bounce back candidate.

Josh Anderson

At the age of 28, it seems fair to believe that Anderson simply is what he’s shown himself to be. That’s not an entirely bad thing. He’s a big forward, standing at 6-foot-3, 226-pounds and will lean on that size advantage as evidenced by his 153 hits and 65 penalty minutes last season. He also can be a significant contributor offensively – at least some of the time. The trouble is, it doesn’t happen as often as some would hope, especially given that he’ll come with a $5.5 million cap hit through 2026-27. Anderson scored 27 goals and 47 points in 82 games with Columbus in 2018-19 and that remains his only 20-goal season. He’s come close in other campaigns and probably would have reached that mark in 2021-22 if he stayed healthy, but he’s no stranger to injuries and counting on him to have another 82-game season or something close to that might be hoping for too much. Another drawback is his inconsistency when he is healthy. He had pretty quiet stretches last season and unlike some other forwards, swapping head coach Dominique Ducharme for Martin St. Louis didn’t spark him. Anderson had nine goals and 16 points in 34 games prior to the coaching change versus 10 goals and 16 points in 35 contests after it. Ultimately, this is probably what Anderson is. He’s a power forward who is a good, but not great scoring threat. Even if he ends up consistently playing on the first line and stays healthy, he's not a sure thing to reach the 50-point milestone and those are ideal circumstances.

Evgenii Dadonov

It’s hard not to think of the trade that never was when dwelling on Dadonov. In an instance of extreme oddness, Vegas dealt Dadonov to Anaheim, only not really because it turned out that it violated the terms of his no-trade clause. The icing on that weird story was the fact that Dadonov went on a tear for Vegas after refusing the trade, scoring five goals and 16 points in 16 games the rest of the way, including a pair of game winners. That didn’t stop the Golden Knights from trading Dadonov – for real this time – to Montreal on June 16 in exchange for the contract of Shea Weber. Given that Weber won’t play again, Montreal essentially got him for nothing. Vegas desperately needed cap space, so they were motivated sellers, but it’s also fair to note that Dadonov hasn’t quite lived up to his present $5 million cap hit. Even with his strong finish to 2021-22, he recorded an okay, but not special 20 goals and 43 points in 78 games. In recent years, he’s simply been a middle-six winger and secondary scorer. He did have 65 and 70 points in 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively while playing primarily with Aleksander Barkov back in his Florida days, so it’s hard not to wonder if there’s a world in which Dadonov finds some of that former glory while playing alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Keep in mind though that he’s 33-years-old and those campaigns were the only two examples of him even reaching the 50-point milestone. Certainly, keep an eye on him. He’s a skilled forward who has a real opportunity in Montreal and some added motivation given that he’s in the final season of his contract. Good things could happen here. Just don’t expect the world from him.

Mike Hoffman

From 2015-16 through 2019-20, Hoffman scored over 20 goals and 50 points every season, thanks in no small part to his success on the power play. At his height in 2018-19, he tied for fourth in the NHL with 17 power-play goals and tied for sixth with 35 power-play points. He missed those 20-goal and 50-point marks in 2020-21, but of course it was a shortened season. With 17 goals and 36 points in 52 contests, he was still on the right pace and his bread-and-butter remained the power-play. So when Montreal signed him to a three-year, $13.5 million contract in the summer of 2021, they were doing so with the justifiable belief that he’d be an important part of their offense. That didn’t end up being the case. Despite getting a healthy 17:03 minutes per game and a major role on the power play, he was limited to 15 goals and 35 points in 67 games. In terms of goals-per-game and points-per-game, 2021-22 was his worst season since 2013-14. That decline was largely a result of him taking a step back on the power play. He was limited to four goals and 13 points with the advantage. To be fair, Montreal as a team was abysmal on the power play, so it wasn’t a specifically Hoffman problem. It’s also worth noting that he’s one of the players who benefited from the coaching change. He had seven goals and 14 points in 30 games under head coach Dominique Ducharme then eight goals and 21 points in 37 contests with Martin St. Louis. While there might be a temptation to assume Hoffman’s down campaign is the start of his decline with age, there were mitigating factors and him bouncing back this season wouldn’t be shocking.

Christian Dvorak

When Montreal sent a 2022 first-round pick and a 2024 second rounder to Arizona on Sept. 4, 2021, in exchange for Christian Dvorak, they were hoping to get a solid two-way center who could slot into their second line. Dvorak had made strides with Arizona in 2020-21 and he was still young enough to have some potential upside. At the end of the day though, Dvorak had a mixed season with Montreal. He had 11 goals and 33 points in 56 contests, which is a new personal best for him in terms of points-per-game, but it was thanks to an extremely hot finish. From April 7 onward, he scored two goals and 13 points in 12 contests. Before that, the 2021-22 campaign was shaping up to be a disappointing one for him. He’s no stranger to having one or two hot streaks help define his season. In 2020-21 he started the season on a tear, scoring seven goals and 13 points in 12 contests before following it up with a stretch of just two goals and four points in 21 games. Those kinds of extremes can be frustrating, and the hope is that the 26-year-old will start to find consistency to his game. He’ll need to if he’s going to stay in a top-six role because newcomer Kirby Dach is projected to fight with him throughout the season for the second-line center slot. Overall, there’s plenty to like about Dvorak’s game. He’s great on the faceoff, responsible at his own end, and can even help kill penalties. If he can be the offensive force he’s shown flashes of on top of that, then he’ll be a steal at his current $4.45 million cap hit. That’s a big if though.

Rem Pitlick

Sometimes the right opportunity at the right time can make all the difference, just ask Pitlick. Going into the 2021-22, Pitlick had tastes of the NHL during his time with Nashville, but he could never earn a spot with the team. He joined the Minnesota Wild and was doing his part, scoring six goals and 11 points in 20 games even while averaging just 9:42 minutes. He couldn’t find an opening with the Wild though and they ultimately waived him on Jan. 11. Montreal, with nothing really to lose at that point, decided to take a chance on Pitlick and went all-in, giving him an average of 17:17 minutes per game. He responded well, scoring nine goals and 26 points in 46 contests. Montreal proved to be a good fit, but expectations for him going forward should be tempered. For one thing, he’s already 25-years-old, so he’s not a prospect and his upside is limited. At 5-foot-11, 196-pounds, he’s also not the biggest of forwards and he doesn’t play a physical game. His puck possession numbers last season left plenty to be desired too, with him finishing with a 43.5% and 43.3% 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick respectively and his relative Corsi/Fenwick were well in the negatives during his tenure with Montreal, suggesting that the team did better from a puck possession perspective when he wasn’t on the ice. It’s also important to note that he had a 23.1 shooting percentage, which seems unsustainable. There’s a lot of risk here and Montreal was wise to mitigate their commitment by signing him to a conversative two-year, $2.2 million contract.

Cole Caufield

Going into the 2021-22 campaign, the Montreal Canadiens knew they had a potential gem in Caufield. While he’s small by NHL standards at 5-foot-9, 162 pounds and doesn’t have much of a physical game, he has an amazing shot, and is a great skater. His offensive upside and in particular his goal scoring ability are close to top tier. He already had a taste of the NHL too, scoring four goals and five points in 10 regular season games in 2020-21 followed by eight goals and 12 points in 20 playoff contests. He consequently entered the season as a serious candidate for the Calder Trophy, but nothing went right early on. He recorded just one goal and eight points in 30 games under head coach Dominique Ducharme. When Martin St. Louis took over as the bench boss though, the transformation was instantaneous. He scored in his first game under St. Louis and ended up scoring 22 goals and 35 points in 37 contests with the new head coach. St. Louis said in May that the difference wasn’t the advice he gave Caufield, it was more about putting him in situations suited to his style of play. Perhaps it also helped that St. Louis was an incredibly successful undersized forward during his playing days, so he has a lot of insight into Caufield’s unique set of strengths and challenges. Regardless of the reason, Caufield clearly worked well under St. Louis and given that the two are set to start their first full season together, there’s a lot to be hopeful for. He has the potential to be a great top line forward for Montreal for years to come.

Jonathan Drouin

When it comes to Drouin, his health has become a big sticking point. He had two wrist surgeries over the last two years with the more recent one coming in April and that’s contributed to him playing just 105 games over the last three campaigns. Whether his wrist troubles are fully behind him and how much undergoing multiple wrist surgeries will potentially affect his game even if he does stay healthy are significant X-Factors. Prior to this though, he was a solid top-six forward and given that he’s 27-years-old, he’s certainly young enough to come back from this. He had six goals and 20 points in 34 games last season and almost all those games were under former bench boss Dominique Ducharme before the team made offensive strides with head coach Martin St. Louis. The coaching swap is both a potential boon and yet another X-Factor. On the one hand, most forwards have performed well under St. Louis and Drouin could prove to be yet another example of that, but we also don’t know too much yet about how Drouin will be deployed under the new coach. It at least helps that Drouin’s versatile. He’s primarily a winger and that’s his likely role this year, but he can also serve as a center in a pinch, so St. Louis has options here. The last time Drouin had a truly normal season was back in 2018-19 when he scored 18 goals and 53 points in 81 contests. Even with all the question marks surrounding him, the potential remains for him to get back to that level.

Kirby Dach

Taken by Chicago with the third overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Dach never worked out with the Blackhawks. Standing at 6-foot-4, Dach is a big center who skates well, can protect the puck, and is willing to play in front of the net. There’s a lot to like here, but he hasn’t performed as hoped. In 2021-22, he had nine goals and 26 points in 70 contests despite averaging 18:03 minutes. It gets worse than him just not performing offensively though. Dach is awful on the draw. Among players who took at least 200 faceoffs last season, Dach finished last with a 32.8% success rate. He struggled on the draw in his first two NHL seasons too and that raises questions about the viability of continuing to deploy him as a center. It’s also worth noting that while he does use his size to his advantage in some respects like positioning and puck protection, he’s not someone who throws his body around much. He had an unremarkable 49 hits last season, so while he has the size of a power forward, that’s not really what he is. And yet despite those downsides, he does have a promising offensive tool set. The Montreal Canadiens clearly see that there’s still potential here because on July 7 they sent the 13th and 66th overall picks to Chicago in exchange for Dach. There is an argument to be made that Chicago asked Dach to do too much, too quickly, and was matching him up against top competition before he was ready. If Montreal can ease him in a bit more, then that might be for the best in the long run. With that in mind, Dach might not have a breakout season in 2022-23, but we could see him take a meaningful incremental step forward.

DEFENSE

Mike Matheson

The Canadiens finally fulfilled Jeff Petry’s trade request over the summer when they traded him to Pittsburgh, but Habs fans should like the main player they got in return, Matheson. For one thing, Matheson’s a local boy who grew up cheering for the Canadiens, so he already has roots in the city. Beyond that though, he’s a similar type of defenseman to Petry, so he can fill in for a lot of what the Canadiens are losing. Matheson is a strong two-way defenseman with speed and is coming off a great campaign where he set career-highs with 11 goals and 31 points in 74 games while averaging 18:48 minutes. He also had a 53.8% and 54.5% 5v5 Corsi and Fenwick respectively, which is better than how the Penguins did without him, so he was an asset from a puck possession perspective. That said, he’s not everything Petry was. Petry was someone who could help kill penalties, but Matheson averaged just 0:14 minutes shorthanded last season. Both have height, but even at 6-foot-2, Matheson isn’t an especially physical defenseman. His 97 hits last season was a career high while Petry has recorded at least 140 in five of his last six seasons. We also don’t know if Matheson’s offensive highs will ever reach Petry’s, who hit the 40-point milestone in four straight campaigns from 2017-18 through 2020-21. So, in a one-to-one comparison, it’s not a perfect match, but Matheson is also in his prime at the age of 28 while Petry is already 34. Matheson matches the Canadiens’ timetable to compete better and if he can continue to play like he did last season, he’ll serve Montreal well. He’ll receive every opportunity on a think Canadiens blueline.

David Savard

Savard scored 11 goals and 36 points in 82 games in 2014-15. To this day that’s easily his top season in terms of offensive production and that will likely always be the case. Even the three goals and 17 points in 62 games he generated last season with Montreal is a bit more than is safe to hope for going forward. Fortunately, the Canadiens didn’t sign him to a four-year, $14 million contract back in July 2021 because of his work with the puck. Savard’s value lies at his own end of the ice. He’s defensively responsible as well as a penalty killer. He’s also got size, standing at 6-foot-2, 233-pounds, and he’s happy to employ it. He accumulated 134 hits along with 36 penalty minutes last season and those numbers are par for the course for him. He’ll sacrifice himself too, ranking second on Montreal in blocked shots last season with 127. He’s the type of hard working, gritty defenseman that can inspire his teammates with his tough style of play. He’s also a nice veteran presence for the Canadiens to have as they rebuild. It helps that he saw what it takes to win as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2020-21 Stanley Cup-winning squad. He won’t make headlines, but he’ll play a role with the Canadiens this season.

Joel Edmundson

The 2021-22 campaign was largely a write off for Edmundson. He didn’t even make his season debut until March 12 due to a back injury. The silver lining is that he settled back into his regular role for what was left of the season, averaging 19:35 minutes, including 2:26 shorthanded minutes. Unfortunately, injuries are nothing new for Edmundson. He hadn’t had an extended absence like that before, but the 29-year-old has also never logged 70 games in a single season. To an extent, that goes hand-in-hand with the kind of game he plays. The 6-foot-4, 227-pound blueline is a physical player and he’ll block a good deal of shots too. Even after missing most of the campaign with his back issue, he still recorded 45 blocks and 61 hits in 24 games. He tends also get into trouble with the refs a fair amount, which can be a bit of an issue given that he’s supposed to help kill penalties, but it’s been part of who he is throughout his career and it’s not likely to change now. The trade-off is that he helps protect his teammates and on occasion he’ll even drop his gloves. With some young defensemen such as Jordan Harris and Justin Barron potentially getting full-time roles with the Canadiens next season, Edmundson could end up as a mentor and something of a protector for them on the ice. Just don’t look for Edmundson to get many points along the way. He set a career-high in 2019-20 with 20 points in 68 contests and he shouldn’t be expected to do any better this season.

GOALTENDING

Jake Allen

The Montreal Canadiens fell mightily after their impressive Stanley Cup Final run just a few years ago; with Carey Price forced to miss the majority of the season for personal and injury-related reasons, the Original Six club once again learned just how hard it can be to thrive without a goaltender capable of legitimately carrying them into contention. Unfortunately, that’s the task that Jake Allen will once again find himself saddled with; while he was originally acquired as a perfect tandem 1B to complement Price, he’s now responsible for ensuring that the team is able to hold their own against the myriad of goaltending talent scattered throughout the Atlantic and the Metropolitan Divisions.

The problem with Jake Allen remains his confidence; when he plays well he’s got incredible instincts and talent, but when he plays poorly he second-guesses his own positioning and ends up struggling to make reads and accurately swallow pucks. He thrives when he’s able to settle into a rhythm, which is both a strength and a weakness for the now-32-year old goaltender – because when he can’t quite find his pacing, he’s unable to utilize the agility and flexibility that helps him snag high-danger redirects and rebounded second shots. The good news, though, is that the Canadiens seemed to see their defensive systems settle into a better flow under head coach Martin St. Louis, who was appointed late in the 2021-22 season and will be at the helm from day one this year.

Projected starts: 55-60

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Injuries and player movement present late season opportunities for Nick Ritchie, Sean Durzi, Evgenii Dadonov, Frank Vatrano, Joel Farabee, Erik Kallgren, Logan Thompson and many more.

Scott Cullen — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 17:59:32 +0000

20 FANTASY POINTS

Each week I dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

In this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points, injuries and player movement present late season opportunities for Nick Ritchie, Sean Durzi, Evgenii Dadonov, Frank Vatrano, Joel Farabee, Erik Kallgren, Logan Thompson and many more.

#1 Arizona Coyotes left winger Clayton Keller suffered a broken leg Wednesday that will require 4-6 months for recovery and rehabilitation, so he is aiming to be ready for the start of next season. Keller was having the best season of his career, already hitting a career high with 28 goals and 63 points in 67 games was his best per-game scoring rate (0.94 ppg). The question for the Coyotes is who will fill the void down the stretch? This is a team missing a bunch of players with injuries already and they were hardly starting from a position of great strength in the first place.

#2 Lawson Crouse might have been a candidate to play a bigger role for the Coyotes, but his season is over, too, after he broke a bone in his hand while blocking a shot. The Coyotes had four players with 10 or more points in 14 games during the month of March and Keller and Crouse were two of them. Nick Ritchie has eight goals and 48 hits in 16 games since joining the Coyotes, so he is a prime candidate to handle a bigger role late in the season. Rookie Matias Maccelli has five points and just six shots on goal in his first 14 NHL games and while that is not very inspiring, he would seem like a good bet to play more for the remainder of this season.

#3 Opportunity is a big factor when it comes to a player making their mark in the National Hockey League. The Los Angeles Kings blueline has been decimated by injuries and that has allowed Sean Durzi to not only play in the league but also to handle a top pair role out of necessity. Since March 7, Durzi has produced eight points (1 G, 7 A) in 13 games while playing more than 23 minutes per game.

#4 The Vegas Golden Knights might have thought they were getting rid of right winger Evgenii Dadonov in a deadline deal with the Anaheim Ducks, but the trade was voided by the National Hockey League because the Ducks were on Dadonov’s no-trade list. No matter, Dadonov has contributed eight points (5 G, 3 A) in the past five games, keeping the Golden Knights in the playoff hunt.

#5 When the Florida Panthers were clearing cap space to bring in Claude Giroux from Philadelphia, they unloaded winger Frank Vatrano to the New York Rangers. Vatrano has responded to his increased role on Broadway with six points (5 G, 1 A) and 18 shots on goal in eight games with the Rangers while getting a shot to play alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.

#6 Even as the Philadelphia Flyers stagger towards the finish of this season, winger Joel Farabee is surging offensively, putting up 10 points (4 G, 6 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past nine games. He has moved to centre, between veteran wingers James van Riemsdyk and Cam Atkinson and, for all of the Flyers’ problems, that trio is working.

#7 While Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog recovers from knee surgery, Valeri Nichushkin has busted through as a premier performer. Nichushkin has already established his credentials as an elite two-way player, but he is getting the chance to play a more offensive role and has produced nine points (5 G, 4 A) along with 26 shots on goal in the past eight games.

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 17: Detroit Red Wings left wing Jakub Vrana (15) skates up ice during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on March 17, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)

#8 The Detroit Red Wings have been fading, going 11-19-6 since returning from the December schedule pause, but the return of Jakub Vrana is at least offering some hope. Vrana has scored seven goals in 11 games for the Wings this season and, going back to when he was acquired last season, Vrana has scored 20 points (15 G, 5 A) in 22 games for Detroit.

#9 One of the most valuable free agent additions from last summer was that of the Los Angeles Kings signing center Phillip Danault. The 29-year-old has proven his value as a defensive presence, but he scored just five goals in 53 games for Montreal last season. This season, Danault has combined with wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Moore to form a dangerous trio that controls play and drives offense, too. Since the beginning of February, Danault has picked up his scoring pace, with 18 points (11 G, 7 A) in 24 games and his 21 goals this season is easily a career high.

#10 Since the All-Star break, the leaders in individual expected goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 play (minimum 200 minutes): Mason Marchment, Brad Marchand, Auston Matthews, Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Gabriel Landeskog, William Carrier, Nathan MacKinnon, Phillip Danault, and Connor McDavid. Danault is in pretty good company there.

#11 While the Boston Bruins have spent much of this season wondering who will fill the hole that was created at second line center when David Krejci left, it sure looks like Erik Haula has settled into the role. He has 15 points (4 G, 11 A) in his past 16 games, and Haula does not need to be a difference maker, he just needs to be a suitable complement to wingers Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak.

#12 While he has had some ups and downs during his rookie season, Carolina Hurricanes right winger Seth Jarvis has tallied six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in the past seven games and, more importantly, has been skating on Carolina’s top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. That’s a great opportunity if Jarvis can remain in that spot.

#13 As Blue Jackets center Boone Jenner deals with a back injury, opportunity knocks for Jack Roslovic, who was playing a whole lot less this season. In his first 49 games this season, Roslovic was averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time per game and had 20 points (8 G, 12 A). Since then, his ice time has jumped to more than 16 minutes per game and Roslovic has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) in 18 games as he centers the top line with Jakub Voracek and Patrik Laine.

#14 When the season started for the expansion Seattle Kraken, Stanley Cup champ Yanni Gourde was expected to be one of the top offensive threats on the team. He also had offseason shoulder surgery, so it took some time for him to get going, but Gourde is finishing strong even in what is a lost season for the Kraken. In his past 21 games, Gourde has 16 points (6 G, 10 A), including three on the power play and three while shorthanded.

#15 When the Montreal Canadiens chose not to match the Carolina Hurricanes’ offer sheet to restricted free agent center Jesperi Kotkaniemi, they quickly reacted by trading to get Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes. Dvorak struggled and has missed time with injuries, but he does have eight points (4 G, 4 A) in his past dozen games.

#16 Minnesota Wild center Frederick Gaudreau flies under the radar but he has been a productive pivot on the second line between rookie Matthew Boldy and Kevin Fiala. Gaudreau has 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in his past 25 games. Since the All-Star break, Gaudreau is putting up 3.03 points per 60 minutes during 5v5 play, one of just 19 players in the league averaging better than three points per 60 in that time.

#16 There are lots of expected names among those per 60 5v5 scoring leaders, but that list also includes Joel Farabee, Derek Ryan, Jesper Bratt, Travis Konecny, Craig Smith, Michael Bunting, Nick Schmaltz, and New Jersey’s center duo of Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier.

#17 That line of Gaudreau, Boldy, and Fiala ranks ninth (among lines to have played at least 200 minutes together) with 4.08 goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 play. Calgary’s top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk ranks second, with 4.57 goals per 60 minutes. The top scoring line during 5v5 play this season? Toronto’s trio of Michael Bunting, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner has scored 6.30 goals per 60 minutes, a massive gap over even Calgary’s dominant number one line.

#18 While Jack Campbell is still out of the lineup, recovering from a rib injury, and Petr Mrazek is done for the rest of the regular season with a groin injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs are pinning their goaltending hopes on 25-year-old rookie Erik Kallgren, who has a .906 save percentage in his first seven NHL games, allowing 17 goals on 15.01 expected goals. The Maple Leafs do not need their goaltender to be a star, but something around league average would go a long way towards the Leafs having some success.

#19 In Vegas, goaltender Robin Lehner is injured again, and Laurent Brossoit has not stepped up in his absence, creating a chance for Logan Thompson, who has a .920 save percentage in 11 games, allowing 27 goals compared to 28 expected goals. Both Kallgren and Thompson have a chance to be fantasy difference makers down the stretch by virtue of playing significant roles on winning teams.

#20 Since the All-Star break, the top scoring defensemen during 5v5 play: Roman Josi, Cale Makar, Adam Pelech, Devon Toews, Brady Skjei, Seth Jones, Travis Sanheim, and Timothy Liljegren. Josi and Makar are to be expected as the top two scorers among defensemen this season, but Pelech, Skjei, Sanheim and Liljegren do not have huge offensive reputations.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

Pacific Division Training Camp News

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 01 Oct 2018 13:00:50 +0000

Anaheim Ducks

Anaheim Ducks. Injury. Those two went hand-in-hand last season and 2018-19 isn’t off to a particularly good start either. They’ve already lost Corey Perry for the next five months after he suffered a torn meniscus and underwent surgery to repair it. If there is any silver lining there, it’s that this presented Perry with an opportunity to repair pre-existing MCL damage. Apparently, he had been playing through the MCL injury for years now rather than undergo surgery, so once comes back from this, he should be in a much better position than he was at any point in recent years.

In the meantime, Ondrej Kase might end up playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf, though for what it’s worth, that’s not the direction the Ducks went in for Saturday’s preseason game. Instead, Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell were on a line with Troy Terry. Kase was on the third line with Andrew Cogliano and Sam Steel. Terry is someone to keep an eye on. Even if he doesn’t end up on the top line, the Perry injury does increase the chances that the 21-year-old rookie will see significant ice time. He excelled with the University of Denver last season, scoring 14 goals and 48 points in 39 games.

Ryan Kesler (hip) has been making progress but hasn’t been cleared for contact yet and probably won’t be ready at the start of the season. As noted above, Steel was on the third line for Saturday’s preseason game and Kesler’s likely unavailability has improved the chances that he will start with the team. Steel had 131 points in 66 WHL games in 2016-17 and 83 points in 54 WHL contests last season.

Arizona Coyotes

Clayton Keller

Arizona is a team that’s been pegged by a lot of people as a 2017-18 non-playoff team that might leap into the postseason this time. That still might happen, but they’ll have to endure a bit of a rough patch right off the bat. Alex Galchenyuk is week-to-week with what’s probably a groin injury while Christian Dvorak (lower body) is technically day-to-day, but he hasn’t practiced yet during training camp, so his return probably isn’t imminent. That leaves the Coyotes without their second and third-line centers.

Vinnie Hinostroza or Clayton Keller could potentially start the season playing up the middle to help plug that hole. Meanwhile, Dylan Strome might open the campaign as the third-line center. It’s a good opportunity for Strome, who was drafted third overall in 2015 amid very high expectations but hasn’t yet lived up to them. He’s only played in 28 games with Arizona so far, but he did excel in the AHL last season with 22 goals and 53 points in 50 contests.

The injuries might also have an impact on Lawson Crouse, who was originally projected to start on the fourth line but might play a more significant role. It helps that he’s looked good in the preseason. In 2017-18, he had 15 goals and 32 points in 56 AHL contests as well as a goal in 11 games with Arizona.

Calgary Flames

Going into the preseason, one of the big questions involving the Calgary Flames was the status of their top line. Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan would compromise two-third of it – that much was obvious – but who would be the third member? The Flames signed James Neal and acquired then signed Elias Lindholm over the summer, creating the expectation that one of those two would take that top line job. As it turns out, they might share it.

Flames GM Brad Treliving recently raised the possibility that Neal and Lindholm will alternate on the top line depending on the situation. That might not last as the Flames might ultimately start to favor sending out one with Gaudreau and Monahan more often than the other, but it at least seems like we won’t get a more definitive answer by the end of training camp.

On the defensive side of things, Juuso Valimaki is a strong candidate to make the opening game roster. He scored 14 goals and 45 points in 43 WHL games last season after being taken with the 16th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He’s looked good in the preseason to push himself into this favorable position as we approach the deadline for the Flames to submit their roster. Dillon Dube has probably done enough to make the Flames as well. He’s been busy in the preseason with four goals and six points in six games. Dube, 20, had 38 goals and 84 points in 53 WHL contests.

Edmonton Oilers

Ty Rattie

Ty Rattie has 19 points in 49 career NHL games. In the 2018 preseason he’s scored seven goals and 11 points in four contests. That’s pretty crazy, but Oilers fans probably remember another player that excelled in exhibition games only to fizzle out just a year back. Kailer Yamamoto had five goals and seven points in six preseason games in 2017, which isn’t quite at Rattie’s level, but it was still exciting to see coming from a player that just turned 19-years-old and wasn’t expected to be NHL-ready yet. When it came to the regular season though, Yamamoto had three assists in nine games before being returned to the WHL.

There’s another similarity between them too. While Yamamoto didn’t consistently play alongside Connor McDavid, the superstar was Yamamoto’s most common linemate. Similarly, Rattie is now projected to play alongside McDavid and much of his recent production can be attributed to who he’s sharing the ice with. There’re differences too though. While Rattie doesn’t have an extensive NHL resume, the 25-year-old is certainly significantly more experienced and was already expected to make the team. More importantly though is the position each player is in. Plus, the Rattie experiment with McDavid has been going on longer than just the preseason. In Rattie’s 14 games with Edmonton in 2017-18, he spent a large majority of his 5-on-5 ice time alongside McDavid and Rattie recorded five goals and nine points as a result.

So, there is some reason to believe that the Rattie-McDavid experiment has staying power and while we’re not expecting anything like the superstar numbers we’ve seen out of Rattie in the preseason to continue, he should be a pretty solid contributor if he stays on that top line.

On a less upbeat note, Mikko Koskinen, who is slated to be the Edmonton Oilers’ backup goaltender after excelling in the KHL, has been a mixed bag in the preseason. That created some speculation that Al Montoya would earn the job over Koskinen, but ultimately Montoya was put on waivers while Koskinen is still with the team. It’s not too surprising of an outcome. Edmonton made a $2.5 million commitment to Koskinen, so they’re not going to change course before a single regular season game has even been played.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings didn’t make a lot of changes over the summer, but they did make one big move by signing Ilya Kovalchuk. He’s perhaps this season’s biggest X-Factor because he was one of the league’s best snipers when he left, but we’ll have to see what he’s like at the age of 35 and after five seasons in the KHL. For what little it’s worth, Kovalchuk has a goal and an assist in three preseason games.

There was talk of him rounding out the first line of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, but that experiment didn’t last. Instead, it looks like the 2017-18 line of Kopitar, Brown, and Alex Iafallo will remain intact while Kovalchuk will play on the second line with Jeff Carter and Adrian Kempe.

As far as the bubble players go, it looks like Jaret Anderson-Dolan has managed to earn a spot on the squad. That’s pretty impressive for the 19-year-old whose pro career only consists of five AHL games thus far, but the reason why he’s being called a bubble player is because he will likely serve on the fourth line and might even end up as a healthy scratch on occasion. Also, even if he makes the team it could just be a temporary arrangement. He’s on an entry-level contract, so the nine-game trial rule applies, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he ends up back in the WHL before he gets to log that 10th game with Los Angeles.

San Jose Sharks

The big story for the San Jose Sharks is obvious: They acquired Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators. With that move, San Jose arguably now features the top two best offensive defensemen in the league between Karlsson and Brent Burns.

That duo are expected to play together on the top power-play unit, but not on even strength. Instead, it looks like Karlsson will play with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who is another amazing defenseman and while he’s not an elite offensive force, he’s no slouch in that regard either. Vlasic and Karlsson might prove to be the best pairing of the 2018-19 campaign. What about Burns? Joakim Ryan will probably be his partner. Ryan was Burns’ most common even-strength partner last season too, so there’s no real surprise there. That would leave them with a third pairing of Brenden Dillon and Justin Braun.

In terms of forwards, Antti Suomela has been a standout in training camp and it seems like he’s done enough to make the team. You can pencil him in as the third-line center at this point, perhaps alongside Joonas Donskoi and Kevin Labanc. Joe Thornton is also good to play after missing the second half of 2017-18 with a knee injury. Because of the injury, he’s only now getting a chance to play alongside trade deadline acquisition Evander Kane. They’re likely to be on the top line together with Joe Pavelski.

Vancouver Canucks

VANCOUVER, BC - SEPTEMBER 20: Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson (40) skates against the Los Angeles Kings in a NHL hockey game on September 20, 2018, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC. (Photo by Bob Frid/Icon Sportswire)

In 2017-18, Brock Boeser established himself as the face of the Vancouver Canucks’ rebuild, but he’s about to get some company. Elias Pettersson is aiming to break into the NHL directly from the Swedish league and so far, it’s looking like he’ll do just that. Every rookie comes with a degree of risk, but at least going into the season it’s reasonable to view Pettersson as a potential contender for the Calder Trophy, just as Boeser was last season.

Another very promising forward prospect, Adam Gaudette, has been sent to AHL Utica though after getting a long look in training camp. He dominated with Northeastern University last season, recording 60 points in 38 contests and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get called up at some point in 2018-19.

Defenseman Olli Juolevi will begin the season in the AHL as well. He spent the 2017-18 campaign in SM-liiga, but he also played in the OHL for two seasons, so he does have some experience in North America. Probably the bigger issue with Juolevi is that he underwent back surgery over the summer and consequently couldn’t start training until the middle of August, so it’s not surprising that he couldn’t force his way onto the lineup this time. In the long run though, he could be a significant part of the Canucks’ blueline.

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas has been nothing if not eventful over the last month. The first big story to break was a rather unpleasant one as Nate Schmidt received a 20-game suspension for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA's Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Schmidt’s agent did assert that his client’s actions were unintentional, but regardless of the circumstances, the bottom line is a defenseman who recorded 36 points and averaged 22:14 minutes last season will miss the first quarter of the campaign.

That naturally left the Golden Knights with an opening on defense. It did look like Erik Brannstrom might make the team as a result, but the 19-year-old will instead start the season in the AHL. That’s probably not a bad idea given that this is his first campaign in North America after coming over from Sweden. Instead, it looks like Jake Bischoff got the final spot on the Golden Knights’ blueline. He’s 24-years-old and had seven goals and 23 points in 69 AHL contests last season.

The next major event was Vegas acquiring Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second round pick. Vegas gave up quite a bit to get Tatar from Detroit at the trade deadline, but he never really found a spot with the Golden Knights, so it’s not surprising to see him be dealt again, even if it arguably is at a significant loss compared to what Vegas paid. As for Suzuki, he’s a great prospect, but wouldn’t have been a factor this season, so at least in the near-term, this trade represents a big boost for Vegas.

Pacioretty and the summer signing of Paul Stastny gives the Golden Knights the makings of a really strong second line. The third member of that unit is up for debate, but Erik Haula and Alex Tuch appear to be the finalists for that gig.

Finally, RFA Shea Theodore agreed to a seven-year, $36.4 million contract on Sept. 25. He did miss part of training camp, but at least he signed with enough time to get back into the swing of things before the regular season starts. Having him on board is also particularly important right now given the absence of Schmidt and given that his cap hit looks pretty reasonable, this was a nice signing for Vegas.

Raising Arizona – Arizona Coyotes 2018-19 Season Preview

Robert Howard — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 20:34:09 +0000

Review/State of Play - Finishing out of the playoffs for the sixth straight season and third worst in the league with 70 points, netting another high draft pick. They entered 2017-18 expecting to be more competitive, but instead by seasons end were adding more pieces to a young group of talented prospects selecting center Barret Hayton fifth in this year’s Draft.

The team did finish with a 17-12-3 record as pieces started to fit together late in the season, providing reason for optimism for a developing franchise. They have now had a season under coach Rich Tocchet, establishing a fast paced system, coming out of the Penguins system, he should have the benefit of a team on the same page out of the gate this season.

Clayton Keller

Keller leads the youth movement - Management will be encouraged by a terrific rookie season from Clayton Keller leading the team in scoring with 65 points - finishing second behind Matt Barzal in rookie scoring. He was the clear leader on offence and a fixture on the power play leading the team with 20 points.

On the disappointing side of the prospect development saw Max Domi struggle through a difficult season. He was dealt in the off-season to the Montreal Canadiens for Alex Galchenyuk, whom GM Chayka sees as a center, a subject of much controversial debate in Montreal. Having already scored 30 in a young career, Galchenyuk is seen to address the Yotes inability to puck the puck in the net. He will be given a lot of opportunity to shine in a fresh start and prove he belongs in the middle

A blue-chip group of prospects in Lawson Crouse (21), Dylan Strome (21), Brendan Perlini (22), Christian Fischer (21), Nick Merkley (21) remain in development. They added more youth in a trade with Chicago for Vinnie Hinostroza.

Fischer had a solid rookie season firing 15 goals and more is expected as a sophomore. Perlini now has two seasons under his belt and came close to the 20-goal scorer they hope he can be with 17 in his sophomore season and 31 over two seasons. Strome appeared in 21 games last season with the Coyotes but also delivered 53 points in 50 games as an AHL rookie. He may be ready to contribute full time this season. Merkley also delivered 39 points in 38 AHL games in an injury shortened season. 6’4”, 220-pound Crouse could earn a spot on the fourth line. He appeared in 72 NHL games in 2016-17, but only 11 last season. His physical game might have him NHL ready, but power forwards of his size often take time to develop fully.

Development amongst that group will have a big impact on the coming season and how the lines shake out. Make no mistake it will be another year of growing for the forwards.

Defensive rock Ekman-Larsson signs for eight – the biggest off-season move that secures their backend and a key piece to future aspirations and a signal to the team and community that improving sooner rather than later is the plan.

The defense however, is reliant up on veterans, whom left some room for improvement last season, but the organization sees as a strength. 32-year-old Alex Goligoski had a mixed campaign producing 35 points, one less than the prior season. Jason Demers and Niklas Hjalmarsson were to provide responsible veteran support on the back end. Demers delivered a solid performance on the top pairing with Ekman Larsson but Hjarlmarsson struggled appearing in 48 games in an injury-marked season. The resigned him for two years and believe he can play a shut down role.

Jakob Chychrun missed time to injury to start the season and enters his third season after surprisingly making the team as an 18-year old. Injury played a factor last season but a clean bill of health to start and he will be counted on to provide 30 points after two seasons of 20. He has the potential to do more.

Antti Raanta was outstanding last season and is signed through 2020-21 at $4.25 million AAV. In his 47 starts he posted a 0.930 save percentage and 2.24 goals against, second place in the NHL for goaltenders playing more than 30 games in both categories. He was dominating in the second half, posting a 16-6-4 record, 1.84 GAA, and .942 save percentage in 27 games starting on Jan. 1^st. Injuries limited his appearances at the start of the season and a healthy season will see 60 or more starts. Sparkling numbers may be hard to repeat with a developing team in front of him Arizona signed veteran, and former starter, 29-year-old Darcy Kuemper as his back up for the next two years hoping to provide stability.

Outlook – Weak special teams were bolstered by the additions of Galchenyuk to help the power play and speedy Michael Grabner on the penalty kill. The Coyotes will struggle to make the playoffs and will be primarily looking to get a group ready to challenge in the following two to three seasons rather than immediately. The pieces are there, and they could surprise given their finish at the end of the season, but smart money is on forward progress and glory down the road.

OHL Prospect Watch: Dvorak key part of London symphony

David Burstyn — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 14:49:22 +0000

The steep rise of Christian Dvorak has to be music to the ears of the Arizona Coyotes.

Since being snapped up with the 58th overall selection in the 2014 NHL Draft, the Illinois native has blossomed into an elite OHL force.

Dvorak had been pegged a likely third-rounder after suffering a serious knee injury (ACL) which limited him to 33 regular season games during the 2013-14 season. The London Knights were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs that year, but since they were hosting the Memorial Cup, it allowed Dvorak time to return to the ice and showcase his abilities. His play at the Memorial Cup impressed Arizona, who had a pair of second-round picks that summer - and could afford to roll the dice.

The wager is definitely paying off.

Dvorak has been filling the nets at a torrid pace ever since. He fired 41 goals and another 5 in 10 playoff games during a breakout post-draft campaign, and has continued to take his play to higher levels this season. Currently, he leads the OHL with 46 goals and sits second in the league scoring race with 107 points, five behind Kevin Lebanc of the Barrie Colts.

Backed by a sneaky and well-placed shot, Dvorak is adept at using defenders as screens and getting into open ice to get his shot away. Partnered with Mitchell Marner, an extremely heady passer and slick playmaker, the two form arguably the best 1-2 punch in the entire OHL. Dvorak oozes creativity and confidence with the puck; he rarely throws it away and can tear apart opposing defences - especially on the power play where he weaves in and out with the open ice he creates.

Not an elite burner in terms of skating speed, however his stride and his tempo are efficient and he is steadily getting more powerful thanks to adding some much-needed lower-body strength. He is now up to 195 pounds - 40 pounds heavier than he was when the Knights selected him 163rd overall in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.

He is a tireless worker who is always alert and aware of his play without the puck. His positioning and focus to constantly be involved in a play without the puck adds to his dimension as a player and was a contributing factor behind the team's decision to name him co-captain this season.

Dvorak played for Team USA for the first time internationally at this year’s U20 World Junior Championship. Though he posted respectable numbers (7-3-5-8), his overall performance at the tournament was somewhat disappointing.

There's been nothing flat about his play since the WJC however, as he has contributed 18 goals - including six multiple-goal games - and 43 points in his past 23 games.

Here are notes and observations on some other prospects on the McKeen's watch list.

Logan Brown (2016), C, Windsor (OHL)

The son of former NHL defenceman and current GM/Coach of the Ottawa 67's, Jeff Brown. Got off to a hot start to his second OHL campaign with 23 points in his first 16 games (16-5-18-23), which was interrupted by a five-game league suspension (Oct) for an illegal hit. Sagged offensively through December and into mid-January (17-1-10-11) before getting back on track. Brown could stand to be more selfish in terms of exploiting an excellent snapshot, among his best weapons. Extremely skilled and possessing the type of size that NHL teams salivate over (6-6, 225), Brown can come across as being aloof and rarely puts forth the physical effort one might expect. He has done a much better job this season playing away from the puck, demonstrating good overall body position and leaning on opponents forcing them into bad areas on the ice. Skating continues to be problematic, yet it shows signs of improvement from this point last season. Brown has dimensional puck skills and is currently centering the two best players on the team in Christian Fischer and Brendan Lemieux which speaks volumes as to how the coaching staff values him as a player.

Tyler Parsons (2016), G, London (OHL)

Currently ranked 6th among North American goaltenders for the 2016 NHL Draft, Parsons became the eighth goalie to score a goal in the OHL and the first ever in league history to record a game-winning goal against Sudbury on October 9th. Not a flashy type yet extremely economical, he has been a dependable option for a talented Knights team this season. The Knights rarely give up more than an average of 30 shots a game and Parsons answers the bell making timely saves. The native of Chesterfield, Michigan sits second in the OHL with 31 wins and a 2.43 goals-against average - and third overall in save percentage (.918). A fiery competitor who battles hard in his crease playing an aggressive butterfly technique and displaying strong athleticism. Plays at the top of his crease helping to cut down a shooter's angles while also boasting strong rebound control. The Knights will go as far as he can take them. Posted two seven-game winning streaks this season - and is currently riding a five-game win streak. Born just three days after the cut-off for last year's draft.

Brendan Saigeon (2016), C, Hamilton (OHL)

Few players took as backwards a step in terms of development than Saigeon did this season. The Grimsby, Ontario native and Belleville's fourth-overall pick in the 2014 OHL Priority Selection scored his first goal on Halloween and found the back of the net just three more times before suffering an unfortunate injury. At the end of January, he suffered a broken arm which ill likely put an end to already disappointing campaign. Generally, he had been a non-factor on the score sheet despite being given ample opportunity to produce. Played on the third line as Hamilton are relatively strong up the middle, however Saigeon never pushed the veterans to be better. His skating continues to be an area of concern as it offers very little in terms of propulsion and explosiveness; he is bland with no get-up-and-go. At his most effective when he moves his feet and tries to get into strong shooting positions as he is a scorer by trade. However, he struggled to gain any confidence prior to being sidelined.

Matthew Tkachuk (2016), LW, London (OHL)

The son of former NHL superstar Keith Tkachuk, Matthew has been a model of consistency in his rookie season having produced at least a point in all but three games over the past four months. He recorded points in every game in February (10-7-16-23) and has the league's longest active points streak. Tkachuk currently sits second in the OHL with 70 assists - and fourth in overall scoring with 93 points. Few players in this draft class possess the inner drive to succeed that Tkachuk has - as he battles furiously in the offensive zone and is an absolute tyrant within seven feet of the goal. Virtually unstoppable as he is a hard player and fends off opponents with little to no effort in order to inch his way closer to the goal. Dangerous coming off the boards - yet an even bigger threat operating by the side of the goal as the majority of his points this year have been in the dirty areas of the ice. His skating is stagnant and looks awkward and will need to be upgraded at the pro level, however his touch, competitiveness, and ability to get under the opposition's skin are all attributes that will be too difficult to ignore as he has taken the league by storm - and should challenge for an OHL scoring crown next season.